Non-Consensual Distribution of Intimate Images Act, civil action for fake intimate images created with artificial intelligence
C.C.S.M. c. N93, ss. 1, 11-12.1, 14 and 15.1
In force since .
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Enforcement body
- Court of King's Bench
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Do not distribute an intimate image of another person, including a fake intimate image created with software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other means, knowing the person did not consent or being reckless as to whether they consented (s. 11(1)).
- Do not threaten to distribute an intimate image of another person (s. 11(1.1)).
- In an action, the distribution is presumed to have been without consent, and you must establish reasonable grounds to believe you had consent when you distributed it (s. 12.1).
- Comply with a court order to make every reasonable effort to make the image unavailable to others, including by having it removed from an online platform operated by an Internet intermediary and de-indexed from any search engine (s. 14(1)(b.1)).
- If you are an Internet intermediary that hosts or indexes third-party content through an online platform, comply with a court order to make every reasonable effort to remove and de-index the image within the time the order specifies (s. 14(1)(b.2)).
- Take reasonable steps to address unlawful distribution of intimate images in the use of your services; an Internet intermediary that has done so is not liable in an action under the Act (s. 15.1).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
A fake intimate image is a visual recording that, in a reasonably convincing manner, falsely depicts an identifiable person as engaging in explicit sexual activity, nude or nearly nude, or exposing their genital organs, anal region or breasts, that is created through the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other means, and that the person depicted would reasonably be suspected not to consent to.
A person who distributes an intimate image of another person knowing that the person who is or is depicted in the image did not consent, or being reckless as to consent, commits a tort against that person, and an intimate image is either a personal intimate image or a fake intimate image. A person who threatens to distribute an intimate image of another person commits a tort against that person. An action may be brought without proof of damage.
In an action for distribution the distribution is presumed to have occurred without consent, and the defendant must establish that they had reasonable grounds to believe they had consent to distribute the image.
The court may award general, special, aggravated and punitive damages, order the defendant to account for profits, order the defendant to make every reasonable effort to make the image unavailable to others, and order an Internet intermediary or other person to make every reasonable effort to remove and de-index the image within a time period the order specifies.
An Internet intermediary, which is a person or organization that hosts or indexes third-party content through an online platform, is not liable in an action under the Act if it has taken reasonable steps to address unlawful distribution of intimate images in the use of its services. Chapter 17 of the Statutes of Manitoba, 2024, which added the fake intimate image provisions, received Royal Assent on . That chapter came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
Chapter 2 of the Statutes of Manitoba, 2026 added the tort of threatening to distribute an intimate image, the court orders concerning Internet intermediaries and the limit on an intermediary's liability. It received Royal Assent on . It took effect on that day under its own coming-into-force section.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app generates content with AI, operates a social platform, reuses other publishers' content or publishes adult content.