California SB 981 (platforms must let users report & remove deepfake nudes)
California Sexually Explicit Digital Images Reporting Law (SB 981, Digital Identity Theft Act)
California · Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Ch. 22.7 (SB 981, Stats. 2024)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- January 1, 2025
- Applies to
- Social media platforms operating in California as defined by the statute.
- Enforced by
- Not specified as a dedicated agency; obligations run to platforms with no enumerated penalty provision.
Social media platforms must give California users a clear way to report sexually explicit images or videos of themselves that were created or altered through digitization without their consent. Once reported, the platform must temporarily block the material while it investigates, and remove it if it finds a reasonable basis to believe it is this kind of nonconsensual digital fake. The framing covers synthetic and AI-altered intimate imagery, not just real photos.
Who is protected: California residents depicted, without consent, in digitally created or altered sexually explicit images or videos posted on social media platforms.
Legal detail
SB 981 added Chapter 22.7 to the Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code, requiring social media platforms to provide California residents a reasonably accessible mechanism to report sexually explicit digital identity theft, temporarily block reported material pending review, make a reasonable-basis determination (generally within 30 days, extendable to 60), and remove qualifying content.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | California |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Strength | Limited |
| Enacted | September 19, 2024 |
| Citation | Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Ch. 22.7 (SB 981, Stats. 2024) |
| Penalties | The statute does not specify a penalty for noncompliance. |
| Topics | non-consensual intimate imagery · AI-generated images |
| Bill text | California SB 981 (2023-2024): Sexually explicit digital images |
More AI rules in California
- CA EO N-6-26 (AI Workforce) · In effect
- California AB 489 (AI healthcare chatbot misrepresentation ban) · In effect
- X.AI v. Bonta (AB 2013 training-data disclosure) · Blocked / in litigation
- CA SB 1168 — data center grid cost allocation · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- California SB 1119 Adam's Law, companion chatbots (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- California SB 867 AI chatbot toy moratorium (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
Related non-consensual intimate imagery rules elsewhere
- Arizona HB 2133 deepfake sexual content — vetoed 2026 · Vetoed
- Illinois HB 3851 — deepfake cyberbullying in schools (2026) · In effect
- TAKE IT DOWN Act · In effect
- DEFIANCE Act (deepfake-porn civil suits) · Proposed / pending
- NY S5959-D (2020, digital replicas + deepfake porn) · In effect
- Missouri Deepfake & Digital Media Protection Act · Proposed / pending
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