Maison Law stands up for survivors of sexual abuse in California. In recent years, “deepfake” videos have become more and more prominent. These videos use technology to alter the content to appear authentic. Unfortunately, one of the most common ways this technology is used is for sexually explicit videos. If you or someone you know has been the survivor of a deepfake porn video and you want to know more about your legal options, contact us today for a free consultation.
Should You Hire a Lawyer?
In today’s digital world, the range of ways you can find yourself sexually survivorized is seemingly endless. More and more, sexual abuse happens digitally, either through messaging apps, text messages, videos, and yes, so-called “deepfake” videos.
Even though it’s relatively easy for this to happen, it doesn’t mean you don’t have legal rights. The fact is, a deepfake porn video is just another form of sexual abuse, and when you’re the survivor, you have legal options. With that, you should probably think about working with our lawyers.
Our team of experienced California sexual abuse lawyers at Maison Law can help you understand your options, but more importantly, we can give you the support and guidance you need. We work on a contingency-fee basis, which means you pay nothing upfront for our services.
How is Deepfake Porn Sexual Abuse?
Generally speaking, sexual abuse refers to any non-consensual sexual behavior or treatment that happens to you. Under that definition, it’s not hard to see how a deepfake porn video could be categorized as sexual abuse.
With that said, the specifics really drive this point home. In California, deepfake porn is considered a form of sexual abuse because of the following:
- Non-consensual – It involves using someone’s likeness in explicit content without their permission is a violation of their consent.
- Privacy violation – It invades the personal privacy of people by using their images or videos without consent.
- Emotional harm – Survivors can suffer from significant emotional distress, including humiliation and trauma.
- Damage to your reputation – It can harm your reputation and negatively impact your personal and professional life.
Even though it’s relatively new technology, the problem of deepfake porn videos has become serious enough that California law has gone to great lengths to address it. The California legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 602 in 2019, which makes it illegal to:
- Create and share sexually explicit material when the creator knows or should have known the depicted person didn’t consent to it, or;
- Share explicit material made by someone else knowing the depicted person didn’t consent.
Effectively, this means that if you’re victimized as a depicted person in a deepfake porn video, you can file an injury claim for damages.
How Do You Recover Damages in a Deepfake Porn Video Claim?
At its core, a deepfake porn video is simply another version of sexual abuse that you could be victimized by. This gives you the legal right to file an injury claim against whoever is responsible. Most of the time, this is going to be the person who created and then shared the video, but it could also include websites that posted the video or circulated it to others.
Regardless of liability, you recover damages by actually filing your claim. Typically, you do this either out of court with an insurance claim, but you might have a better chance at full recovery by filing a personal injury lawsuit inside the court system. Your damages are going to be specific to your particular case, but usually includes things like:
- Medical expenses – These cover costs for therapy and counseling to address the trauma and psychological harm from the deepfake porn video.
- Lost wages – This provides financial considerations for lost income due to your inability to work because of emotional distress. This also covers future lost wages if your career is affected long-term.
- Pain and suffering – These are damages for the severe emotional and psychological pain you experienced, affecting your mental health and well-being.
- Emotional distress – This covers the psychological impact, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other emotional trauma from the video.
- Loss of companionship and enjoyment of life – These damages are for the negative impact on personal relationships and the loss of intimacy and support caused by the video.
- Punitive damages – These are additional damages to punish the perpetrator and any involved parties for their reckless actions, meant to deter similar future misconduct.
To file a claim, you need to make sure it’s within the statute of limitations. Recently, lawmakers have extended this period, so it depends on when the abuse occurred:
- After January 1, 2019 – Survivors have ten years from the date of the sexual abuse (release of the video) to file a lawsuit.
- Between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2019 – With the passage of AB 2777, survivors have a three-year “lookback” window, allowing them to file a lawsuit until December 31, 2026.
Even with these legal options, it’s still a long road to recovery. Filing a sexual abuse lawsuit can be challenging, but our team is here to support you every step of the way. But it’s also important to respond in the right way.
How Should You Respond When You’re in a Deepfake Porn Video?
It’s incredibly unfortunate that people use deepfake technology to make sexually explicit images and videos. At the same time, while it’s fairly easy to make these types of materials, it’s the emotional and psychological impact that’s really damaging to you or any other victim. And because you have legal options, it means that you have to take the right steps to protect yourself and your claim. So, if you find yourself victimized by this technology, here’s how you need to respond:
- Gather information – Take screenshots and save details like website URLs and where you found the video.
- Report the content – Tell the website or app where you saw the video. They usually have ways to report videos that shouldn’t be there.
- Report the content to police – Tell the police about what happened. They can help and might start looking into it. This will also create a legal record of the video.
- Protect your online presence – Make your online accounts safer by changing your passwords and keeping an eye out for anything unusual.
- Take care of yourself – Talk to a therapist or counselor to help you deal with how you’re feeling about what happened.
- Get support – Tell your family and friends you trust about what happened. They can support you and help stop the video from spreading.
The aftermath of a deepfake porn video can get complicated, because it’s not always clear who made the video or who is even responsible for its spreading. The reality, though, is that everyone involved in either the creation or spreading of the video is responsible for the resulting damage and our team can help you hold them accountable.
California Deepfake Porn Video Victims Can Trust Maison Law
For survivors of sexual abuse in California, the legal process can help you reclaim your life after enduring abuse because of a deepfake porn video. Maison Law understands the challenges survivors face and is here to help. Our team of California sexual abuse lawyers will explain your rights and support you in seeking justice and helping you move forward. Contact us today for a free, totally confidential consultation.
