Bill
S 32
Creates a special commission to study and recommend protections against digital impersonation, deepfakes, and nonconsensual sharing of intimate content, guiding future legislation.
Status
- Introduced in the Massachusetts Senate: January 8, 2025. Presented by Senator Julian Cyr (Cape and Islands).
- Passed the Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent: February 12, 2025.
- Received in the House: February 13, 2025. Referred to relevant committees; hearing scheduled for July 10, 2025 (A‑2, 1:00–5:00 PM).
- Nature of measure: A resolve establishing a special commission (study and investigation), not a statute imposing new criminal penalties.
Purpose and intent
- To create a multi‑stakeholder commission to examine the impacts and legal implications of advanced technology and internet use on protecting individuals from harm, abuse, and exploitation — with emphasis on digital impersonation, deepfakes, nonconsensual distribution of intimate content, and privacy expectations for electronic communications.
Key provisions
- Creation of a commission chaired by the Attorney General (or designee).
- Commission membership includes legislative committee chairs (Judiciary; Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity), the Senate and House minority leaders (or designees), executive branch technology and public safety officials, the Chief Justice of the Trial Court, chief public defender counsel (Committee for Public Counsel Services), representatives from civil liberties and victim‑advocacy organizations (ACLU‑MA; Jane Doe, Inc.; MASOC), the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, and a member of the Massachusetts District Attorneys’ Association.
- Scope of study (non‑exhaustive):
- False impersonation using a person’s name, likeness, photographs, or by assuming their position, in‑person or electronically, when used to obtain benefit, injure or defraud, or harass/embarrass.
- Creation/distribution of digitally altered video (e.g., face/body swaps, “deepfakes”) intended to spread malicious or false information.
- Exchange among adults of sexually explicit private communications or screenshots where the individuals are identifiable (nonconsensual sharing contexts).
- Legal status and necessity of a “reasonable expectation of privacy” for text messages sent to another person’s cell phone.
- Reporting deadlines:
- Interim report due to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary; Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity; and the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means by December 31, 2026.
- Final report with findings, recommendations and draft legislation due by July 31, 2027.
Who would be affected
- Potentially affected groups include: victims of digital impersonation, deepfake and nonconsensual intimate image harms; law enforcement and prosecutors; public defenders and the courts; technology companies and platforms; civil liberties and privacy advocates; sexual assault and domestic violence service providers; and state policymakers.
Potential outcomes and impact
- The commission’s findings could lead to draft legislation addressing criminal or civil liability for digital impersonation and deepfakes, privacy protections for electronic communications, platform responsibilities, evidence/admissibility rules, victim remedies, and recommendations for law enforcement training and technical standards.
- As a study body, the resolve itself does not change law immediately but sets a structured process to inform future legislation.
Documents and related measures
- Text filed as Senate Docket No. 324 (filed 1/11/2025).
- Related/companion measures noted in docket materials (e.g., HR 1702, HR 625, S 5465, prior-session bills).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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