US Senate Passes DEFIANCE Act to Let Deepfake Victims Sue for Civil Damages

Justice just got a digital upgrade. The US Senate has unanimously cleared a path for victims of non-consensual AI-generated imagery to strike back at their creators in a court of law.

DEFIANCE Act: Empowering Victims Against AI Abuse

On January 13, 2026, the Senate passed the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act) without a single objection. According to The Verge, this bill grants individuals who have had their likenesses deepfaked into sexually explicit content the right to sue the creators for civil damages.

While previous legislation like the Take It Down Act focused on criminalizing distribution and mandating platform intervention, the DEFIANCE Act targets the source. It gives victims a direct legal sword to hold creators financially accountable for their actions.

A Unanimous Stand for Digital Safety

The lack of opposition in the Senate signals a major shift in how the US government views AI-generated harms. By allowing civil litigation, the law bypasses the high burden of criminal proof in some cases, offering a faster and more direct route to reparations for victims of digital violence.