SAG-AFTRA Backs Legislation To End Nonconsensual Digital Sex Scenes And Nudity

SAG-AFTRA today announces its support for California Senate Bill 564, which bans the creation and dissemination of nonconsensual, digitally created sex scenes and nude performances.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Connie Leyva (20th District), with input from SAG-AFTRA, and touches on two key union priorities: enhancing performers' protections when they are involved in sex scenes and their rights to control their likeness, including digital depictions. In addition, this legislation will give Californians the right to sue creators of "deepfake" pornography or fake sex tapes.

Said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, "We're very excited that Sen. Leyva has introduced SB 564. Filmmakers have an obligation to obtain meaningful consent when producing sexually explicit material. To perform intimate scenes is a serious decision for performers, there is incredible vulnerability with potential to affect their home life, mental health, career and public perception. Sexually explicit material must be carefully scripted and agreed upon in advance. This bill safeguards performers ensuring that they continue working in a dignified and safe environment."

Added SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White, "We're entering a new digital era in which content creators use technology to manipulate images to depict individuals as engaging in sexual activity or as performing in the nude without their consent or participation. And, it's not just celebrities who are at risk. Every person is a potential target for this form of image-based sexual abuse. We need to push hard for laws that target this kind of abuse, hold bad actors accountable for their actions, and establish rules around consent and civil remedies for victims, so that bad actors are deterred from making the videos in the first place."

SB 564 will cover the use of technology to create motion pictures that depict an individual in a realistic sex act or in the nude. Digitization includes depicting the nude body parts of another human being as being those of the individual or imposing nude body parts onto the individual. In addition, the legislation does not distinguish between a public and private figure, establishes statutory damages, and gives an individual the option to file anonymously to maintain privacy and prevent unwanted media attention. Filmmakers and producers are required, under union contracts and this legislation, to obtain written consent known as a rider for both nude performances and the performance of a simulated sex act.

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