DE HB353: An Act To Amend Titles 10 And 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Deep Fakes.

In one paragraph

Delaware's HB 353 (84 Del. Laws c. 479), the Amelia Kramer Act, extends Delaware's intimate-image laws to deep fakes, meaning realistic but false sexual images made with generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology. An identifiable person harmed by the intentional disclosure or threatened disclosure of a deep fake without consent may sue for damages or statutory damages up to $10,000, the defendant's gains, punitive damages, fees and an injunction. The violation-of-privacy crime now covers deep fakes without proof of an expectation of privacy, and an adult creating a depiction of a minor is an aggravating factor. Signed and effective October 9, 2024.

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What it means for business

Anyone who intentionally discloses or threatens to disclose a sexual deep fake of an identifiable person, knowing or recklessly disregarding lack of consent, can be sued (statutory damages up to $10,000, punitive damages); knowing dissemination is also a crime.

Key provisions

1. 1Deep fake: synthetic media that appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or doing something that did not occur, or that gives a fundamentally different impression than the unaltered original; in the civil chapter, synthetic media is an intimate image created or intentionally manipulated with generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology to create a realistic but false image, audio or video
2. 2Civil (10 Del. C. ch. 78): an identifiable depicted individual harmed by a person's intentional disclosure or threatened disclosure of a deep fake without consent may sue if the person knew of, or acted with reckless disregard for, the lack of consent and that the individual was identifiable
3. 3Remedies: the greater of economic and noneconomic damages or statutory damages up to $10,000 per defendant, any monetary gain from the disclosure, and punitive damages; the court may also award attorneys' fees, costs and injunctive relief
4. 4Defenses: good-faith disclosure in law enforcement, legal proceedings, or medical education or treatment, or in reporting unlawful or unwelcome conduct; matters of public concern (not merely because the person is a public figure); disclosure reasonably intended to assist the depicted individual
5. 5Criminal (11 Del. C. § 1335(a)(9), violation of privacy): a visual depiction now includes a deep fake, and for a deep fake it is not necessary to prove it was created or provided under circumstances giving a reasonable expectation of privacy
6. 6New aggravating factor, alleged as an element of the offense: the actor was over 18 and the person depicted under 18 when the depiction was created; the bill synopsis says this makes such cases felony rather than misdemeanor prosecutions
7. 7Interactive computer services, information services and telecommunications services are not liable under § 1335(a)(9) for content provided by the actor or another person
8. 8Signed by the Governor October 9, 2024 (84 Del. Laws c. 479); effective October 9, 2024; known as "The Amelia Kramer Act"

Latest legislative action

Oct 9, 2024. Signed by Governor (84 Del. Laws c. 479)

Sponsors (showing 5 of 24)

Roll call votes