Non-Consensual
Lacking explicit permission or agreement from all involved parties for an action or content.
How the laws define this
Both legal texts establish that the core of non-consensual activity is the absence of explicit and informed permission or agreement from a depicted individual concerning the creation and sharing of altered visual depictions. They diverge, however, on the specific standard for valid permission, the scope of restricted conduct, and the targeted content. The DEFIANCE Act of 2025 explicitly requires permission to be voluntary alongside explicit and informed, while extending the lack of consent to cover the simple possession of intimate digital forgeries depicting an identifiable individual. Conversely, a bill for an act relating to harassment by the dissemination, publishing, distribution, or posting of a visual depiction showing another person in a state of full or partial nudity or engaged in a sex act that has been altered to falsely depict another person omits possession and the voluntary requirement entirely. Instead, that proposal strictly applies the concept of non-consent to the creation, dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of depictions involving full or partial nudity or sex acts.
Synthesised from the 2 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.
Definitions (2)
In the context of the DEFIANCE Act, "non-consensual" refers to the absence of explicit, informed, and voluntary permission from an identifiable individual for the creation, possession, or disclosure of intimate digital forgeries depicting them. This lack of consent is a fundamental element for establishing a violation under the Act, emphasizing the violation of personal autonomy and privacy.
The absence of explicit and informed agreement from the depicted individual for the creation, dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of a visual depiction.