The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Commerce and Tourism
BILL: SB 1400
INTRODUCER: Senator Calatayud
SUBJECT: Removal of Altered Sexual Depictions Posted Without Consent
DATE: March 14, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Dike McKay CM Pre-meeting
2. CJ
3. RC
I. Summary:
SB 1400 amends s. 836.13, F.S., to require covered platforms, such as websites and online
services, to remove altered sexual depictions and copies of such from their platform upon request
of the victim. Upon receipt of the request, a covered platform has 48 hours to remove the altered
sexual depiction. The bill requires covered platforms to provide clear notice of the platform’s
responsibilities under the bill, including the manner in which a person can submit a notification
and request for removal of the altered sexual depiction. The bill identifies which platforms are
bound by these requirements and provides liability protections for platforms’ good faith efforts
to remove altered sexual depictions. Further, the bill provides a remedy for violations, classifying
a failure to follow these requirements as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Florida
Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The bill takes effect upon becoming law.
II. Present Situation:
Nonconsensual Altered Sexual Depictions
Over the last decade, Americans have started to recognize the growing problem of distribution of
sexually explicit images without consent, otherwise known as “revenge porn.”
1
Although Florida
and other states have enacted protections against revenge porn, there are still instances in which a
1
“In 2016, 10 million people, or 2% of Americans had reported being victims of nonconsensual porn. Individuals ages 18-29
generally, and women aged 18-29 specifically, as well as LGTBQ+ Americans were victimized at even higher rates. In 2017,
the number of young Americans ages 18-29 who had become victims of nonconsensual porn jumped to 12%, an increase of
over 100%. In 2019, a larger study suggests that the problem has only grown, showing a 400% increase in the number of
victims from 2016. Taken as a whole, these statistics show the number of victims continues to rise at an alarming rate even
though both the legal system and society as a whole have attempted to address the issue.” Chance Carter, NAT’L ASS’N OF
ATT’Y GEN., An Update on the Legal Landscape of Revenge Porn, available at https://www.naag.org/attorney-general-
journal/an-update-on-the-legal-landscape-of-revenge-porn/#identifier_4_21493 (last visited Mar. 14, 2025).
REVISED: BILL: SB 1400 Page 2
person may be a victim of nonconsensual pornography in the form of altered sexual depictions,
more commonly known as “deepfakes.”
2
Deepfakes typically take the form of imagery, video,
and audio material that “is produced or distributed without the consent of the subject and has
been altered, potentially with artificial intelligence, to show nonconsensual intimate or explicit
content.”
3
Advancements in technology, such as increased availability and usage of generative
AI, have enabled perpetrators to manipulate sexual materials in ways that circumvent revenge
porn laws.
4
For example, “if a photo depicted the victim nude, where the victim’s face was real,
but the victim’s genitals were computer generated, many laws would not apply because the
intimate part of the image was not the victim’s.”
5
Researchers have discovered that 98% of the deepfake videos found online are explicitly
pornographic and 99% of deepfake pornography features women.
6
Moreover, the creation of
deepfake pornography is rapidly increasing, as researchers found that there were 464% more
deepfake pornographic videos created in 2023 than in 2022.
7
Further, 90% of deepfake
pornography is found on dedicated deepfake pornography platforms.
8
In response to the
prevalence of deepfakes, the Department of Homeland Security has declared that “[d]eepfakes
and the misuse of synthetic content pose a clear, present, and evolving threat to the public across
national security, law enforcement, financial, and societal domains.”
9
Florida Law
In 2022, the Florida Legislature created s. 836.13, F.S., to cover this gap in law. The statute
addresses deepfake images by providing that a person commits a third degree felony when he or
she willfully and maliciously promotes any altered sexual depiction of an identifiable person,
without the consent of the identifiable person, and who knows or reasonably should have known
that such visual depiction was an altered sexual depiction.
10
A victim may initiate a civil action
against those violating against a person who violates the statute to obtain injunctive relief,
monetary damages of $10,000 or actual damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
11
While this statute may be used by victims to obtain justice against perpetrators for the harm
2
RAINN, RAINN’s Recommendation for Effectively Addressing Nonconsensual Manipulated Intimate Material (Deepfakes),
available at
https://www.rainn.org/sites/default/files/import/RAINN%20on%20nonconsensual%20manipulated%20intimate%20material
%20-
%20Google%20Docs.pdf#:~:text=We%20refer%20to%20imagery%2C%20video%2C%20audio%2C%20etc.%20that,or%20
explicit%20content%20as%20%E2%80%9Cnonconsensual%20manipulated%20intimate%20material%E2%80%9D (last
visited Mar. 14, 2025).; see also DEPT. OF HOMELAND SEC., Increasing Threat of Deepfake Identities,
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/increasing_threats_of_deepfake_identities_0.pdf (last visited Mar. 14,
2025).
3
RAINN, supra note 2.
4
RAINN, supra note 2.
5
RAINN, supra note 2.
6
Security Hero, 2023 State of Deepfakes, available at https://www.securityhero.io/state-of-deepfakes/#concluding-remarks
(last visited Mar. 14, 2025).
7
Id.
8
Id.
9
DEPT. OF HOMELAND SEC., supra note 2.
10
Section 836.13, F.S.
11
Section 836.13(5), F.S. BILL: SB 1400 Page 3
caused by deepfake pornography, the statute does not currently provide a mechanism by which
victims can request removal of such media from online platforms.
Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act
It is unlawful under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), ss.
501.201-501.213, F.S., for a party to take part in “unfair methods of competition, unconscionable
acts or practices, and unfair or deceptive acts of practices in the conduct of any trade or
commerce.”
12
Such practices include fraudulent billing,
13
misleading a consumer or
misrepresenting a product’s characteristics,
14
or other behavior determined to be unfair by a
court.
15
Under the FDUTPA, the Office of the State Attorney or Department of Legal Affairs,
either by their own inquiry or through complaints, may investigate violations of the FDUTPA.
16
In addition to other remedies under state and federal law, the enforcing authority may bring
actions for declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, actual damages on behalf of consumers and
businesses, cease and desist orders, and civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation.
17
Moreover,
consumers may bring private actions against parties for violating the FDUTPA, resulting in
either:
• Declaratory judgment and injunctive relief when the consumer is aggrieved by a FDUTPA
violation; or
• Actual damages, attorney fees, and court costs, when the consumer has suffered a loss due to
the FDUTPA violation.
18
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Required Removal Procedure
SB 1400 requires that no later than December 31, 2025, covered platforms establish a process by
which a person may notify and request removal of an altered sexual depiction
19
that was
published without their consent. The notification and request for removal must include, in
writing:
• A physical or electronic signature of the identifiable person or an authorized person acting on
their behalf.
• An identification of, and information reasonably sufficient for the covered platform to locate,
the altered sexual depiction of the identifiable person.
12
Section 501.204, F.S.
13
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Medical Service Center of Florida, Inc., 103 F. Supp. 3d 1343 (S.D. Fla. 2015).
14
Lewis v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 530 F. Supp. 3d 1183 (S.D. Fla. 2021); Marty v. Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC, 43
F. Supp. 3d 1333 (S.D. Fla. 2014).
15
See Siever v. BWGaskets, Inc., 669 F. Supp. 2d 1286, 1292-93 (M.D. Fla. 2009).
16
The enforcing authority under the FDUTPA may “administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses or matter, and
collect evidence.” Section 501.206, F.S.
17
Sections 501.207, 501.2077, 501.2075, 501.208, F.S.
18
Sections 501.2105, 501.211, F.S.
19
“Altered sexual depiction” means any visual depiction that, as a result of any type of digital, electronic, mechanical, or
other modification, alteration, or adaptation, depicts a realistic version of an identifiable person: 1. With the nude body parts
of another person as the nude body parts of the identifiable person; 2. With computer-generated nude body parts as the nude
body parts of the identifiable person; or 3. Engaging in sexual conduct as defined in s. 847.001 in which the identifiable
person did not engage. Section 836.13, F.S. BILL: SB 1400 Page 4
• A brief statement that the identifiable person has a good faith belief that any altered sexual
depiction identified is not consensual, including any relevant information for the covered
platform to determine the depiction was published without consent.
• Information sufficient to enable the covered platform to contact the person.
Upon receipt of a valid removal request, within 48 hours the covered platform must remove the
altered sexual depiction and make reasonable efforts to identify and remove any known, identical
copies of such depiction.
Clear and Conspicuous Notice
The bill requires a covered platform to provide clear and conspicuous notice of the notice and
removal process, which:
• Is easy to read and is in plain language.
• Provides information regarding the responsibilities of the covered platform under this bill.
• Includes a description of how a person can submit a notification and request for removal.
Covered Platforms
Under the bill, “covered platform” means a website, online service, online application, or mobile
application that serves the public and:
• Primarily provides a forum for user-generated content, including messages, videos, images,
games, and audio files; or
• For which it is in the regular course of trade or business of the website, online service, online
application, or mobile application to publish, curate, host, or make available content of
nonconsensual altered sexual depictions.
The bill explicitly does not apply to:
• A provider of broadband Internet access service, as described in 47 C.F.R. s. 8.1(b).
• Electronic mail.
• Except as otherwise provided, an online service, application, or website:
o That consists primarily of preselected content by the provider, rather than content that is
user generated; and
o For which any chat, comment, or interactive functionality is incidental to, directly related
to, or dependent on the provision of the content described above.
Liability
The bill provides that a covered platform shall not be found liable for any claim based on the
platform’s good faith removal of material claimed to be a nonconsensual altered sexual
depiction, regardless of whether the altered sexual depiction is ultimately found to be unlawful.
Remedies
In addition to the remedies provided in s. 836.13(5), F.S., a failure to comply with the notice and
removal requirements of the bill constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the
FDUTPA. BILL: SB 1400 Page 5
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon becoming law.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
Covered platforms will need to comply with the notification and removal requirements in
the bill.
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None. BILL: SB 1400 Page 6
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 836.13.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.