AB 1856: Disorderly conduct: distribution of intimate images.

Existing law defines certain acts as disorderly conduct, punishable as a misdemeanor. Under existing law, it is disorderly conduct to intentionally distribute or cause to be distributed the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private, the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress.

This bill would make it a crime for a person who is 18 years of age or older to intentionally create and distribute a deepfake of an intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or a deepfake of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or a deepfake of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, if the person creating and distributing the deepfake knows or should know that the person depicted did not consent to the distribution and that the distribution of the deepfake will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress. The bill would define a deepfake as any audio or visual media, including, but not limited to, any image, motion picture film, or video recording, that is created or altered in a manner that it would falsely appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic record of the actual speech or conduct of the individual depicted in the recording. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.