TODAY: ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, REP. STAFSTROM, REP. FISHBEIN, SEN. WINFIELD, SEN. KISSEL, SEN. MAHER TO URGE SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT AGAINST DEEPFAKE DIGITAL SEXUAL ASSAULT
Benton, Elizabeth
MEDIA ADVISORY
Thursday, April 23, 2026
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG, REP. STAFSTROM, REP. FISHBEIN, SEN. WINFIELD, SEN. KISSEL, SEN. MAHER TO URGE SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT AGAINST DEEPFAKE DIGITAL SEXUAL ASSAULT
(Hartford, CT) – At 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 at the Legislative Office Building, Attorney General William Tong, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, House Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Craig Fishbein, House Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Gary Winfield, Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. John Kissel, Senate Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Ceci Maher will hold a press conference to seek support for legislation creating new civil enforcement mechanisms to crack down on deepfake digital sexual assault.
House Bill No. 5312, An Act Establishing a Civil Action for the Office of the Attorney General and a Private Right of Action for Victims of Unlawful Dissemination of a Synthetically Created Intimate Images,
builds on the 2015 state law first authored and championed by Attorney General Tong while serving as House Chair of the Judiciary Committee. That law made a crime the unauthorized dissemination of intimate images in an attempt to harm or harass. Last year, legislators built on that law to include digitally created images. This latest legislative proposal would afford rights to victims that criminal penalties do not, including the ability to take civil action against abusers and platforms that disseminate this illegal content. The bill would empower the Office of the Attorney General to pursue civil injunctions and penalties against bad actor platforms to stop the spread of illegal images, including AI-generated child pornography. The bill further creates a private right of action, giving power to victims themselves to sue their abusers.
Attorney General Tong and the legislators will discuss how important it is for law enforcement to keep pace with new technological threats.
WHAT: Press conference to urge passage of legislation to strengthening enforcement against deepfake digital sexual assault
WHO: Attorney General William Tong, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, House Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Craig Fishbein, House Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Gary Winfield, Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. John Kissel, Senate Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Ceci Maher
WHERE: Room 1E, Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford
WHEN: 2 p.m., Thursday, April 23
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Elizabeth Benton
Chief of Communications and Policy
Office of the Attorney General
165 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT 06106
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