Relates to privacy rights involving digitization; provides that such right of privacy and action for injunction and damages shall include a portrait, picture, likeness or voice created or altered by digitization.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3924
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BORES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to privacy rights
involving digitization
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "right to
2 your own image act".
3 § 2. Section 50 of the civil rights law, as amended by section 1 of
4 subpart A of part MM of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 § 50. Right of privacy. A person, firm or corporation that uses for
7 advertising purposes, or for the purposes of trade, the name, portrait,
8 picture, likeness, or voice of any living person, including but not
9 limited to a portrait, picture, likeness, or voice created or altered by
10 digitization, without having first obtained the written consent of such
11 person, or if a minor of such minor's parent or guardian, is guilty of a
12 misdemeanor. For purposes of this section, "digitization" means the use
13 of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other
14 computer-generated or technological means, including adapting, modify-
15 ing, manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.
16 § 3. Section 51 of the civil rights law, as amended by section 2 of
17 subpart A of part MM of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
18 read as follows:
19 § 51. Action for injunction and for damages. Any person whose name,
20 portrait, picture, likeness or voice, including but not limited to a
21 portrait, picture, likeness, or voice created or altered by digitiza-
22 tion, is used within this state for advertising purposes or for the
23 purposes of trade without the written consent first obtained as above
24 provided may maintain an equitable action in the supreme court of this
25 state against the person, firm or corporation so using such person's
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02148-01-5
A. 3924 2
1 name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice, including but not limited to
2 a portrait, picture, likeness, or voice created or altered by digitiza-
3 tion, to prevent and restrain the use thereof; and may also sue and
4 recover damages for any injuries sustained by reason of such use and if
5 the defendant shall have knowingly used such person's name, portrait,
6 picture, likeness or voice, including but not limited to a portrait,
7 picture, likeness, or voice created or altered by digitization, in such
8 manner as is forbidden or declared to be unlawful by section fifty of
9 this article, the jury, in its discretion, may award exemplary damages.
10 But nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to
11 prevent any person, firm or corporation from selling or otherwise trans-
12 ferring any material containing such name, portrait, picture, likeness
13 or voice, including but not limited to a portrait, picture, likeness, or
14 voice created or altered by digitization, in whatever medium to any user
15 of such name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice, or to any third
16 party for sale or transfer directly or indirectly to such a user, for
17 use in a manner lawful under this article; nothing contained in this
18 article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm or corpo-
19 ration, practicing the profession of photography, from exhibiting in or
20 about their establishment specimens of the work of such establishment,
21 unless the same is continued by such person, firm or corporation after
22 written notice objecting thereto has been given by the person portrayed;
23 and nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to
24 prevent any person, firm or corporation from using the name, portrait,
25 picture, likeness or voice, including but not limited to a portrait,
26 picture, likeness, or voice created or altered by digitization, of any
27 manufacturer or dealer in connection with the goods, wares and merchan-
28 dise manufactured, produced or dealt in by such manufacturer or dealer
29 which they have sold or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture,
30 likeness or voice used in connection therewith; or from using the name,
31 portrait, picture, likeness or voice of any author, composer or artist
32 in connection with their literary, musical or artistic productions which
33 they have sold or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture, like-
34 ness or voice used in connection therewith. Nothing contained in this
35 section shall be construed to prohibit the copyright owner of a sound
36 recording from disposing of, dealing in, licensing or selling that sound
37 recording to any party, if the right to dispose of, deal in, license or
38 sell such sound recording has been conferred by contract or other writ-
39 ten document by such living person or the holder of such right. Nothing
40 contained in the foregoing sentence shall be deemed to abrogate or
41 otherwise limit any rights or remedies otherwise conferred by federal
42 law or state law. For purposes of this section, "digitization" means
43 the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any
44 other computer-generated or technological means, including adapting,
45 modifying, manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.
46 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
