Proposed Legislation Targets Nonconsensual Sharing Of Sexually Explicit Deepfakes

Whether sexually themed content is offensive or harmless fun depends on context.  We can get drunk at a party, laugh uproariously at off-color jokes, and play strip poker, but if the people at the table next to us were behaving in such a manner while we were trying to have a serious conversation with an old friend, we would not find their behavior very amusing.  Likewise, sending sexually suggestive photos of yourself to your romantic partner, or even filming your intimate moments, can be a sweet gesture of love, provided that no one except the couple sees the images or videos.  Sharing sexually explicit or intimate content without the content of the person depicted is, at minimum, embarrassing and intimidating to the subject of the content and often causes him or her financial losses or harm to reputation.  Florida already considers sexual cyberharassment a crime, and federal lawmakers would like to implement a similar law at the federal level.  If you are facing criminal charges for nonconsensual sharing of sexual content, contact a West Palm Beach sex offenses lawyer.

The Take It Down Act Aims to Criminalize Revenge Porn at the Federal Level

Florida law defines sexual cyberharassment as the online sharing or transmission of sexually explicit or intimate images or videos without the subject’s consent.  It relates to content which the subject shared or created with the understanding that no one would see it except the recipient of the message in which he or she sent it.  Therefore, it covers revenge porn, where an ex-partner posts images shared privately by a former partner, as well as other explicit images shared in a private context.  A first offense charge for sexual cyberharassment is a misdemeanor, but it can be upgraded to a felony for subsequent charges.

A bipartisan federal bill, known as the Take It Down Act, aims to criminalize sexual cyberharassment in the same way as state laws in Florida and several other states do.  It differs from Florida’s sexual cyberharassment law mainly in that its definition of content which it is illegal to share without the subject’s consent includes deepfakes.  In other words, a person whose faked image appears in artificially generated content depicting sexual situations can claim that he or she is the subject of illegally shared content.  Another clause in the proposed Take It Down Act says that, when the subject of the nonconsensual content notifies the person who shared it, not only must the sharer take down the content from websites he or she controls, but the sharer must also notify other recipients of the content that it was nonconsensually shared and that they must take it down within 48 hours of receipt of the notice.

Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

Attorney William Wallshein has more than 41 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County.  Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.049.html

mprnews.org/story/2025/04/29/take-it-down-act-addressing-nonconsensual-deepfakes-and-revenge-porn-passes-what-is-it