SB 649 — An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in forgery and fraudulent practices, providing for the offense of digital forgery.

PRINTER'S NO.   705

                      THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                          SENATE BILL
                          No. 649
                                                 Session of
                                                   2025

     INTRODUCED BY PENNYCUICK, KANE, TARTAGLIONE, BROWN, LAUGHLIN,
        FONTANA, VOGEL, PISCIOTTANO, ROBINSON, STEFANO, J. WARD AND
        MILLER, APRIL 29, 2025

     REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, APRIL 29, 2025


                                       AN ACT
 1   Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
 2      Consolidated Statutes, in forgery and fraudulent practices,
 3      providing for the offense of digital forgery.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6      Section 1.      Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
 7   Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
 8   § 4101.1.      Digital forgery.
 9      (a)   Offense defined.--A person is guilty of digital forgery
10   if, with intent to defraud or injure anyone, or with knowledge
11   and intent the person is facilitating a fraud or injury to be
12   perpetrated by anyone, the person:
13            (1)    generates or creates and distributes a forged
14      digital likeness as genuine; and
15            (2)    knows or reasonably should know the visual
16      representation or audio recording is a forged digital
17      likeness.
18      (b)   Grading.--
 1             (1)   A person who violates this section is guilty of a
 2      misdemeanor of the first degree.
 3             (2)   A person who violates this section through
 4      involvement in a scheme to defraud, coerce or commit theft of
 5      monetary assets or property is guilty of a felony of the
 6      third degree.
 7      (c)    Exceptions.--This section shall not apply to:
 8             (1)   an instance of satire, parody, commentary, criticism
 9      or works that relate to a matter of public interest or have
10      political or newsworthy value; or
11             (2)   a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance
12      of the law enforcement officer's official duties.
13      (d)    Affirmative defense.--It is an affirmative defense to
14   prosecution that the defendant took reasonable action to place
15   viewers or listeners of the forged digital likeness on notice
16   that the forged digital likeness was not genuine.
17      (e)    Construction.--This section shall not be construed to
18   restrict the ability of a person to detect, prevent, respond to
19   or protect against security incidents, identity theft, fraud,
20   harassment, malicious or deceptive activities or any illegal
21   activity, preserve the integrity or security of systems or
22   investigate, report or prosecute persons responsible for the
23   action.
24      (f)    Definition.--As used in this section, the term "forged
25   digital likeness" means a computer-generated visual
26   representation of an actual and identifiable individual or audio
27   recording of an actual and identifiable individual's voice that:
28             (1)   has been created, adapted or modified to closely
29      resemble a genuine visual representation or audio record of
30      the individual;

20250SB0649PN0705                     - 2 -
 1          (2)   materially misrepresents the appearance, speech or
 2    behavior of the individual such that the fundamental
 3    character of the individual's appearance, speech or behavior
 4    is changed;
 5          (3)   is likely to deceive a reasonable person to believe
 6    that the visual representation or audio recording is genuine;
 7    and
 8          (4)   is created and distributed without the consent of
 9    the individual.
10    Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




20250SB0649PN0705                  - 3 -