California Assembly Bill 621
Session 20252026
Deepfake pornography.
Became Law
Became Law on Oct 13, 2025
Origin Chamber
Assembly
Type
Bill
Bill Number
621
State
California
Session
20252026
Motion Text
AB 621 Bauer-Kahan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
Assembly Roll Call Votes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ávila Farías
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Other
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Johnson
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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Yes
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Yes
Summary
Existing law grants to a depicted individual a cause of action against a person who creates and intentionally discloses sexually explicit material if the person knows, or reasonably should have known, that the depicted individual in that material did not consent to its creation or disclosure or who intentionally discloses sexually explicit material that the person did not create if the person knows the depicted individual in that material did not consent to the creation of the sexually explicit material. Existing law defines "sexually explicit material" for purposes of that provision to mean any portion of an audiovisual work that shows the depicted individual performing in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct and defines "depicted individual" to mean an individual who appears, as a result of digitization, to be giving a performance the individual did not actually perform or to be performing in an altered depiction. Existing law authorizes a plaintiff to recover, among other relief, statutory damages of not less than $1,500 but not more than $30,000, or $150,000 for a malicious violation, as prescribed.
This bill would revise and recast the provision described above to additionally grant to a depicted individual a cause of action against a person who knows, or reasonably should know, that the depicted individual was a minor when the digitized sexually explicit material was created and would additionally grant a cause of action to that depicted individual against a person who knowingly facilitates or recklessly aids or abets conduct prohibited by that provision. The bill would define "digitized sexually explicit material" to mean any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct.
This bill would make a person that provides a service that enables the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service presumed to be engaged in knowing facilitation or reckless aiding or abetting, as described above, if a depicted individual or public prosecutor provides the person with evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the person is providing services that enable the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service that engages in conduct described in the provisions described above, and the person fails to take all necessary steps to stop providing services that enable the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service within 30 days of receiving that evidence, as specified. This bill would increase the maximum statutory damages available to a depicted individual to $50,000 if the violation was not malicious and $250,000 for a malicious violation and would authorize certain public attorneys to bring a civil action to enforce these provisions, as specified.
02/13/25 - Introduced
February 13, 2025
03/24/25 - Amended Assembly
March 24, 2025
04/09/25 - Amended Assembly
April 9, 2025
07/03/25 - Amended Senate
July 3, 2025
09/05/25 - Amended Senate
September 5, 2025
09/12/25 - Enrolled
September 12, 2025
10/13/25 - Chaptered
October 13, 2025
03/14/25- Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection
March 14, 2025
04/04/25- Assembly Judiciary
April 4, 2025
04/21/25- Assembly Appropriations
April 21, 2025
05/28/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
May 28, 2025
07/11/25- Senate Judiciary
July 11, 2025
08/15/25- Senate Appropriations
August 15, 2025
08/29/25- Sen. Floor Analyses
August 29, 2025
09/08/25- Sen. Floor Analyses
September 8, 2025
09/10/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
September 10, 2025
Sort by most recent
10/13/2025
California State Legislature
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 673, Statutes of 2025.
10/13/2025
California State Legislature
Approved by the Governor.
09/22/2025
California State Legislature
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
09/10/2025
Assembly
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3225.).
09/09/2025
Assembly
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
09/09/2025
Senate
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).
09/08/2025
Senate
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
09/05/2025
Senate
Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
08/29/2025
Senate
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
08/29/2025
Senate
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29).
08/18/2025
Senate
In committee: Referred to suspense file.
07/16/2025
Senate
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
07/03/2025
Senate
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.
06/11/2025
Senate
Referred to Com. on JUD.
06/03/2025
Senate
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
06/02/2025
Assembly
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 1841.)
05/27/2025
Assembly
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
05/23/2025
Assembly
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
04/23/2025
Assembly
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
04/10/2025
Assembly
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
04/09/2025
Assembly
Read second time and amended.
04/08/2025
Assembly
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 8).
03/25/2025
Assembly
Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
03/24/2025
Assembly
Read second time and amended.
03/20/2025
Assembly
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (March 18).
03/06/2025
Assembly
Re-referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and JUD. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.
03/03/2025
Assembly
Referred to Coms. on JUD. and P. & C.P.
02/14/2025
Assembly
From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.
02/13/2025
Assembly
Read first time. To print.
Sources
Record Created
Feb 14, 2025 5:53:00 AM
Record Updated
Oct 15, 2025 8:48:51 AM