NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6278

Senate Bill S6278

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Establishes the crime of aggravated harassment by means of electronic or digital communication and provides for a private right of action for the unlawful dissemination or publication of deep fakes

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 07, 2025	referred to codes

2025-S6278 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6293
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Add §240.80, Pen L; amd §§52-b & 52-c, Civ Rts L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S6829, A10217
2023-2024: S5583, A4217

2025-S6278 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the crime of aggravated harassment by means of electronic or digital communication; provides for a private right of action for the unlawful dissemination or publication of deep fakes, which are digitized images which are altered to incorporate a person's face or their identifiable body part onto an image and such image depicts a pornographic or lewd sex act or graphic violence.

2025-S6278 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6278

SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
aggravated harassment by means of electronic or digital communication;
and to amend the civil rights law, in relation to providing for a
private right of action for the unlawful dissemination or publication of
deep fakes

 
PURPOSE:

To prevent the malicious dissemination and/or publication of material
that is digitally altered or produced to look like a person that has
engaged in lewd activity or a sex act as defined in the penal law or a
graphic act of violence. This legislation also provides for a private
right of action against the party for damages resulting from the unau-
thorized dissemination of such material.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1- adds a new section 240.78 of the penal law - Precludes a person
from producing or disseminating material, a picture, image, or deep
fake, into which the image of a person is digitally incorporated into
the image of another to for no other legitimate purpose other than to
cause harassment, annoyance or alarm of the person. Violations of this
law would be punishable as a Class misdemeanor.

§ 2 - amends section 52-b of the civil rights law to provide for a
private right of action as the result of the dissemination or publica-
tion of an intimate image or a deep fake.

§ 3 - amends section 52-c of the civil rights law to provide for a
private right of action for the unlawful dissemination or publication of
a sexually explicit depiction or deep fake of an individual.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Section 1 of this act addresses an evolving harm involving the dissem-
ination of digitized material involving a lewd sex act or graphic
violence of a person with an intent to harass, annoy or alarm that
person. This new penal law section specifically addresses the modern
methods of criminal harassment involving material that is digitally
altered, or a deep fake, and disseminated to harm a person.

Section 2 of this act provides for a private right of action as the
result of becoming victimized by the unauthorized dissemination of lewd
or graphically violent material that interposes a person's likeness or
deep fake material into the public domain, which causes damage to the
person.

Section 3 of this act provides for a private right of action for the
unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit deep fake
of an individual.

 
JUSTIFICATION:


With the advent of social media platforms that provide for open sources
of information which many times includes disinformation, there has been
a proliferation of digitized images, audio and video that is dissem-
inated in the public domain for no legitimate purpose other than to
belittle, embarrass and dehumanize a person. The result of publicizing
sexually explicit, lewd or graphically violent information on the public
social media platform has resulted in suicide, violence and permanent
damage to a person's reputation without any recourse under state law.
Even more disturbing is the use of deep fake technology to digitally
incorporate an individual's persona or likeness into graphically
violent, or sexually explicit or lewd images to scare or terrorize the
individual into action such as paying a fee to be released from the
public dissemination of such digitized images. This legislation provides
for an avenue to seek redress against those bad actors engaged in such
nefarious actions.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024; Held in Senate Codes Committee.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act provides for a private right of action for the unlawful dissem-
ination or publication of a sexually explicit deep fake of an individ-
ual.

2025-S6278 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6278
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 7, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime  of
   aggravated harassment by means of electronic or digital communication;
   and  to  amend  the  civil  rights law, in relation to providing for a
   private right of action for the unlawful dissemination or  publication
   of deep fakes
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.80  to
 read as follows:
 §  240.80 AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT BY MEANS OF ELECTRONIC OR DIGITAL COMMU-
            NICATION.
   1. A PERSON IS GUILTY OF AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT BY MEANS OF  ELECTRONIC
 OR DIGITAL COMMUNICATION WHEN, WITH THE INTENT TO HARASS, ANNOY, THREAT-
 EN OR ALARM ANOTHER PERSON, SUCH PERSON PRODUCES, DISTRIBUTES, PUBLISHES
 OR BROADCASTS MATERIAL THAT CONTAINS A PICTURE, PHOTOGRAPH OR IMAGE OF A
 PERSON  OR PERSONS OR A DEEP FAKE INTO WHICH THE IMAGE OF ANOTHER PERSON
 OR PERSONS IS SUPERIMPOSED AS A DEEP FAKE.
   2. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "DEEP FAKE" MEANS A  DIGITIZED  IMAGE
 THAT  IS  ALTERED  TO  INCORPORATE A PERSON'S FACE OR THEIR IDENTIFIABLE
 BODY PART ONTO SUCH IMAGE, AND  SUCH  IMAGE  IS  ANY  PRINTED  MATERIAL,
 ADVERTISEMENT,  MOVIE,  VIDEO,  COMMUNICATION  OR  COMPUTER  IMAGE  THAT
 DEPICTS A PORNOGRAPHIC OR LEWD SEX ACT AS DEFINED  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION
 245.00  OR  130.00  OF THIS PART, OR GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, THAT IS PUBLISHED
 WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS
 DEPICTED, AND FOR NO OTHER LEGITIMATE  PURPOSE  OTHER  THAN  TO  HARASS,
 ANNOY, THREATEN OR ALARM ANOTHER PERSON.
   AGGRAVATED  HARASSMENT BY MEANS OF ELECTRONIC OR DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
 SHALL BE A CLASS A MISDEMEANOR.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07436-01-5
 S. 6278                             2

 
   § 2. Section 52-b of the civil rights law, as added by chapter 109  of
 the laws of 2019, the opening paragraph of subdivision 1, subdivisions 4
 and  5  as amended and subdivision 11 as added by section 3 of subpart A
 of part MM of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   § 52-b. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publica-
 tion  of  an  intimate  image OR DEEP FAKE.  1. Any person depicted in a
 still or video image, including an image created or altered by digitiza-
 tion, regardless of whether or not the original still or video image was
 consensually obtained, shall have a cause of action against an  individ-
 ual who, for the purpose of harassing, annoying or alarming such person,
 disseminated or published, or threatened to disseminate or publish, such
 still or video image, where such image OR DEEP FAKE:
   a.  WAS  A  DEEP  FAKE  OR was taken when such person had a reasonable
 expectation that [the] THEIR image would remain private; and
   b. depicts (i) an unclothed or exposed intimate part of  such  person;
 or  (ii)  such person engaging in sexual conduct, as defined in subdivi-
 sion ten of section 130.00 of the penal law, with another person; and
   c. was disseminated or published, or threatened to be disseminated  or
 published, without the consent of such person.
   2.  In  any  action  commenced  pursuant  to  subdivision  one of this
 section, the finder of fact, in its  discretion,  may  award  injunctive
 relief,  punitive  damages,  compensatory  damages  and reasonable court
 costs and attorney's fees.
   3. This section shall not apply to the following:
   a. the reporting of unlawful conduct;
   b. dissemination or publication of an intimate still [or], video image
 OR DEEP FAKE made during lawful and common practices of law enforcement,
 legal proceedings or medical treatment;
   c. images involving voluntary  exposure  in  a  public  or  commercial
 setting; or
   d. dissemination or publication of an intimate still [or], video image
 OR DEEP FAKE made for a legitimate public purpose.
   4.  Any  person  depicted  in  a still [or], video image OR DEEP FAKE,
 including an image created or altered by digitization, that  depicts  an
 unclothed or exposed intimate part of such person, or such person engag-
 ing in sexual conduct as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of
 the  penal  law  with another person, which is disseminated or published
 without the consent of such person and where such person had  a  reason-
 able  expectation  that  the image would remain private, may maintain an
 action or special proceeding for a court order to  require  any  website
 that  is subject to personal jurisdiction under subdivision five of this
 section to permanently remove such still or video image  OR  DEEP  FAKE;
 any  such  court  order  granted pursuant to this subdivision may direct
 removal only as to images that  are  reasonably  within  such  website's
 control.
   5. a. Any website that hosts or transmits a still [or], video image OR
 DEEP  FAKE, including an image created or altered by digitization, view-
 able in this state, taken OR  PRODUCED  under  circumstances  where  the
 person depicted had a reasonable expectation that the image would remain
 private, which depicts:
   (i)  an  unclothed  or  exposed  intimate  part, as defined in section
 245.15 of the penal law, of a resident of this state; or
   (ii) a resident of this state engaging in sexual conduct as defined in
 subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with another  person;
 and
 S. 6278                             3

   b.  Such still [or], video image OR DEEP FAKE is hosted or transmitted
 without the consent of such resident of this state, shall be subject  to
 personal  jurisdiction  in  a  civil action in this state to the maximum
 extent permitted under the United States constitution and federal law.
   6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be
 commenced the later of either:
   a. three years after the dissemination or publication of an image; or
   b.  one  year  from  the date a person discovers, or reasonably should
 have discovered, the dissemination or publication of such image.
   6-A. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE  THE
 FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   A.  "INDIVIDUAL"  MEANS  A PERSON, CORPORATION, BUSINESS ENTITY, FIRM,
 ASSOCIATION, COMMITTEE OR ORGANIZATION CONDUCTING  BUSINESS  WITHIN  THE
 STATE OF NEW YORK.
   B.  "DEEP FAKE" MEANS A DIGITIZED IMAGE THAT IS ALTERED TO INCORPORATE
 A PERSON'S FACE OR THEIR IDENTIFIABLE BODY PART  ONTO  SUCH  IMAGE,  AND
 SUCH  IMAGE IS ANY PRINTED MATERIAL, ADVERTISEMENT, MOVIE, VIDEO, COMMU-
 NICATION OR COMPUTER IMAGE THAT DEPICTS A PORNOGRAPHIC OR LEWD  SEX  ACT
 AS  DEFINED  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION 245.00 OR 130.00 OF THE PENAL LAW, OR
 GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, THAT IS PUBLISHED WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMIS-
 SION OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS DEPICTED, AND FOR NO OTHER LEGITI-
 MATE PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO HARASS,  ANNOY,  THREATEN  OR  ALARM  ANOTHER
 PERSON.
   7.  Nothing  [herein] IN THIS SECTION shall be read to require a prior
 criminal complaint, prosecution or conviction to establish the  elements
 of the cause of action provided for by this section.
   8.  The  provisions  of this section are in addition to, but shall not
 supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity.
   9. If any provision of this section or its application to  any  person
 or  circumstance  is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other
 provisions or applications of this section which  can  be  given  effect
 without  the  invalid  provision  or  application,  and  to this end the
 provisions of this section are severable.
   10. Nothing in this  section  shall  be  construed  to  limit,  or  to
 enlarge,  the  protections that 47 U.S.C § 230 confers on an interactive
 computer service for content provided  by  another  information  content
 provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
   11.  For  purposes  of  this  section, "digitization" means the use of
 software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other compu-
 ter-generated or technological  means,  including  adapting,  modifying,
 manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.
   §  3. Section 52-c of the civil rights law, as added by chapter 304 of
 the laws of 2020, and paragraphs b and e of subdivision 1 as amended  by
 section  4 of subpart A of part MM of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is
 amended to read as follows:
   § 52-c. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publica-
 tion of a sexually explicit depiction OR DEEP FAKE of an individual.  1.
 For the purposes of this section:
   a.  "depicted individual" means an individual who appears, as a result
 of digitization, to be  giving  a  performance  they  did  not  actually
 perform or to be performing in a performance that was actually performed
 by  the  depicted  individual  but  was  subsequently  altered  to be in
 violation of this section.
   b. "digitization" means to realistically depict the nude body parts of
 another human being as the nude body parts of the  depicted  individual,
 computer-generated  nude  body  parts  as  the  nude  body  parts of the
 S. 6278                             4
 
 depicted individual  or  the  depicted  individual  engaging  in  sexual
 conduct,  as  defined  in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal
 law, in which the depicted individual did not engage. "Digitization" may
 also  mean  the  use  of software, machine learning, artificial intelli-
 gence, or any other computer-generated or technological means, including
 adapting, modifying, manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.
   c. "individual" means a natural person.
   d. "person" means a human being or legal entity.
   e. "sexually explicit material" means any portion of an  audio  visual
 work OR DEEP FAKE that shows the depicted individual:
   i.  performing in the nude, meaning with an unclothed or exposed inti-
 mate part, as defined in section 245.15 of the penal law;
   ii. appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct,  as
 defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law; or
   iii. posed in a manner intended to elicit sexual arousal or gratifica-
 tion and where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
   F.  "DEEP FAKE" MEANS A DIGITIZED IMAGE THAT IS ALTERED TO INCORPORATE
 AN INDIVIDUAL'S FACE OR THEIR IDENTIFIABLE BODY PART  ONTO  SUCH  IMAGE,
 AND  SUCH  IMAGE  IS  ANY PRINTED MATERIAL, ADVERTISEMENT, MOVIE, VIDEO,
 COMMUNICATION OR COMPUTER IMAGE THAT DEPICTS A PORNOGRAPHIC OR LEWD  SEX
 ACT AS DEFINED PURSUANT TO SECTION 245.00 OR 130.00 OF THE PENAL LAW, OR
 GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, THAT IS PUBLISHED WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMIS-
 SION OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS DEPICTED, AND FOR NO OTHER LEGITI-
 MATE  PURPOSE  OTHER  THAN  TO  HARASS, ANNOY, THREATEN OR ALARM ANOTHER
 PERSON.
   2. a. A depicted individual shall have a cause  of  action  against  a
 person  who,  discloses,  disseminates,  PRODUCES  or publishes sexually
 explicit material OR A DEEP FAKE related to the depicted individual, and
 the person knows or reasonably should have known the depicted individual
 in that material did not consent to its  creation,  disclosure,  dissem-
 ination, PRODUCTION or publication.
   b.  It  shall  not  be  a defense to an action under this section that
 there is a disclaimer in the sexually explicit  material  that  communi-
 cates  that  the  inclusion  of  the depicted individual in the sexually
 explicit material was unauthorized or that the depicted  individual  did
 not participate in the creation or development of the material.
   3.  a. A depicted individual may only consent to the creation, disclo-
 sure, dissemination, PRODUCTION, or  publication  of  sexually  explicit
 material  OR  A DEEP FAKE by knowingly and voluntarily signing an agree-
 ment written in plain language that includes a  general  description  of
 the sexually explicit material and the audiovisual work in which it will
 be incorporated.
   b.  A  depicted  individual  may rescind consent by delivering written
 notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the
 person in whose favor consent was made,  unless  one  of  the  following
 requirements is satisfied:
   i.  the  depicted  individual is given at least three business days to
 review the terms of the agreement before signing it; or
   ii. if the depicted individual is represented,  the  attorney,  talent
 agent, or personal manager authorized to represent the depicted individ-
 ual provides additional written approval of the signed agreement.
   4. a. A person is not liable under this section if:
   i.  the  person  discloses,  disseminates  or  publishes  the sexually
 explicit material in the course of reporting unlawful activity, exercis-
 ing the person's law enforcement duties, or hearings,  trials  or  other
 legal proceedings; or
 S. 6278                             5
 
   ii.  the  sexually  explicit material is a matter of legitimate public
 concern, a work of political or newsworthy value  or  similar  work,  or
 commentary,  criticism  or disclosure that is otherwise protected by the
 constitution of this state or the United States; provided that  sexually
 explicit  material  shall  not  be considered of newsworthy value solely
 because the depicted individual is a public figure.
   5. In any action commenced pursuant to this  section,  the  finder  of
 fact,  in its discretion, may award injunctive relief, punitive damages,
 compensatory damages, and reasonable court costs and attorney's fees.
   6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be
 commenced the later of either:
   a. three years after the  dissemination  or  publication  of  sexually
 explicit material; or
   b.  one  year  from  the date a person discovers, or reasonably should
 have discovered, the  dissemination  or  publication  of  such  sexually
 explicit material.
   7.  Nothing  in this section shall be read to require a prior criminal
 complaint, prosecution or conviction to establish the  elements  of  the
 cause of action provided for in this section.
   8.  The provisions of this section including the remedies are in addi-
 tion to, and shall not supersede, any other rights or remedies available
 in law or equity.
   9. If any provision of this section or its application to  any  person
 or  circumstance  is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other
 provisions or applications of this section which  can  be  given  effect
 without  the  invalid  provision  or  application,  and  to this end the
 provisions of this section are severable.
   10. Nothing in this  section  shall  be  construed  to  limit,  or  to
 enlarge,  the protections that 47 U.S.C. § 230 confers on an interactive
 computer service for content provided  by  another  information  content
 provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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