Oklahoma law would let people sue over intimate-image disclosures

An identifiable person who suffers harm could sue someone who intentionally discloses or threatens to disclose a private intimate image without consent. The image must show specified nude body parts or sexual conduct, and the person bringing the case must be recognizable from the image or related information. The person bringing the case must show that the image was private and that the defendant knew the content was of the prohibited type. Consent to creating or previously sharing an image does not by itself prove consent to the later disclosure. A person who did not consent to the sexual conduct or exposure shown keeps a reasonable expectation of privacy even if the image was made in a public place. The law applies beginning November 1, 2026, to actions based on an unauthorized disclosure or threat to disclose.

A defendant could avoid liability by proving a listed good-faith or public-interest reason, while certain parents and child-custody holders would receive protection. The exceptions cover reports to law enforcement, legal proceedings, medical education or treatment, investigations of unlawful or unwelcome conduct, public-interest matters, and efforts to help the depicted person. A parent, legal guardian, or person with legal custody generally would not be liable for disclosing or threatening to disclose an intimate image of a child. That protection would not apply if the plaintiff proves the disclosure was illegal or intended for sexual arousal, humiliation, degradation, or financial or commercial gain. An image is not a public-interest matter only because the depicted person is a public figure. Cloud, storage, hosting, and similar infrastructure providers would avoid liability if they lack actual knowledge of the specific unlawful content or quickly remove or block access after learning about it. These protections would apply to liability under the act beginning November 1, 2026.

A successful plaintiff could seek damages, repayment of the defendant’s gains, attorney fees, court orders to stop conduct, and other allowed relief. The court could award the greater of proven damages or up to $10,000 in statutory damages per liable defendant, plus other remedies allowed by state law. The court may protect the plaintiff’s identity by allowing identifying details to be omitted or redacted, but the plaintiff must provide those details confidentially to the court and defendant. A plaintiff may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs, but the court decides whether to award them. An unauthorized-disclosure case must be filed within four years after discovery or when the image should reasonably have been discovered. A threatened-disclosure case must be filed within four years after the threat, subject to state tolling rules; for a person who was a minor at the time, the period begins at adulthood. The remedies, privacy protections, and filing deadlines would apply beginning November 1, 2026; the four-year periods use the discovery, threat, or adulthood triggers stated above.