The Non-Consensual Distribution of Intimate Images Act

The Non-Consensual Distribution of Intimate Images Act, C.C.S.M. c. N93 (Assented to November 5, 2015) bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definitions 2 Director 3 Support for persons concerned with intimate images 4 Authorized agencies 5 Agreement 6 Requests for assistance 7 Assistance to reach resolution 8 Notices 9 Referral to police 10 Director may act 11 Non-consensual distribution of intimate image 12 When expectation of privacy not lost 12.1 Reverse onus 13 Defence — public interest 14 Remedies in action for distribution of intimate image 14.1 Remedies in action for threatened distribution 15 Publication ban 15.1 Liability of Internet intermediaries limited 16 Other rights not affected 17 Review 18 C.C.S.M. reference 19 Coming into force HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows: INTERPRETATION AND ADMINISTRATION Definitions 1(1) The following definitions apply in this Act. "authorized agency" means an agency, organization or other entity that has been designated by regulation under section 4. (« organisme autorisé ») "court" means the Court of King's Bench. (« tribunal ») "department" means the department of government over which the minister presides. (« ministère ») "director" means the person designated as director under subsection 2(1). (« directeur ») "fake intimate image" means any type of visual recording (a) that, in a reasonably convincing manner, falsely depicts an identifiable person as (i) engaging in explicit sexual activity, (ii) being nude or nearly nude, or (iii) exposing their genital organs, anal region or breasts; (b) that is created through the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other means, including by modifying, manipulating or altering an authentic visual representation; and (c) in respect of which it is reasonable to suspect that the person depicted in the image would not consent to the recording being made or distributed to others. (« fausse image intime ») "Internet intermediary" means a person or organization that hosts or indexes third-party content through an online platform. (« intermédiaire de l'Internet ») "intimate image" means (a) a personal intimate image of a person; or (b) a fake intimate image of a person. (« image intime ») "minister" means the minister appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to administer this Act. (« ministre ») "personal information" means personal information as defined in The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act . (« renseignements personnels ») "personal intimate image" means any type of visual recording (a) in which a person, whether or not the person is identifiable, is (i) engaging in explicit sexual activity, (ii) nude or nearly nude, or (iii) exposing their genital organs, anal region or breasts; (b) that is recorded in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of the image; and (c) if the image has been distributed, in respect of which the person in the image retained a reasonable expectation of privacy at the time of distribution. (« image intime personnelle ») "request for assistance" means a request made under section 6. (« demande d'aide ») "visual recording" includes a live broadcast or live stream. (« enregistrement visuel ») Interpretation: distribution of intimate images 1(2) For the purpose of this Act, a person distributes an intimate image if they knowingly publish, transmit, sell, advertise or otherwise distribute or make the image available to another person. S.M. 2024, c. 17, s. 3 ; S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 2 . Director 2(1) The minister must designate an employee of the department as director for the purposes of this Act. Role of director 2(2) The director is responsible for (a) ensuring that appropriate information and resources are available to assist persons who have had an intimate image distributed without consent or who believe that their intimate image is about to be distributed without consent; (b) overseeing services provided under this Act by an authorized agency; and (c) making information available to the public respecting the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. SUPPORT FOR PERSONS CONCERNED WITH INTIMATE IMAGES Support for persons concerned with intimate images 3(1) The department must make appropriate information or resources available on request to assist persons who have had an intimate image distributed without consent or who believe that their intimate image is about to be distributed without consent. Range of supports 3(2) Without restricting the generality of subsection (1), the department may (a) provide information or assistance to enable persons to have their intimate images returned, destroyed, deleted or removed from the Internet or any other place where they may be viewed by others; (b) provide information or assistance that may facilitate the resolution of a dispute with a person who may be in possession of an intimate image or who may have distributed an intimate image, including information respecting mediation or dispute resolution in appropriate circumstances; and (c) provide information about legal remedies and protections available when there has been a non-consensual distribution of an intimate image or when a person believes that an intimate image is about to be distributed without consent. Authorized agencies 4(1) The minister may, by regulation, designate one or more agencies, organizations or other entities to (a) receive requests for assistance; and (b) provide some or all of the supports set out in section 3 to persons who have had an intimate image distributed without consent or who believe that their intimate image is about to be distributed without consent. Required contents of regulation 4(2) A regulation under subsection (1) must address the following: (a) the agency, organization or other entity that is authorized to receive requests for assistance and provide supports set out in section 3; (b) the supports that the agency, organization or other entity is authorized to provide; (c) the collection, use, access, disclosure, protection, return and destruction of personal information by the agency, organization or other entity. Designation considerations 4(3) The minister may designate an agency, organization or other entity by regulation under subsection (1) if the minister is satisfied that it has experience or expertise in addressing sexual exploitation or victimization or providing services to victims of unlawful conduct. S.M. 2024, c. 17, s. 5 . Agreement 5(1) The minister may enter into an agreement with an authorized agency. Terms of agreement 5(2) The agreement may address one or more of the following: (a) the handling of requests for assistance and the manner in which supports are to be provided by the agency; (b) the obligation of the agency to report to the director and provide information to the director on request; (c) termination of the agreement; (d) any other matter that the minister considers necessary. Requests for assistance 6(1) A person whose intimate image has been distributed without consent or who believes that an intimate image is about to be distributed without consent may make a request for assistance to an authorized agency. When request to director 6(2) If an authorized agency has not yet been designated by regulation, a request for assistance may be made to the director. Assistance to reach resolution 7(1) An authorized agency may provide such supports set out in section 3 as it considers appropriate in order to attempt to reach a resolution of the concerns respecting an intimate image set out in the request for assistance. Discretion 7(2) The provision of support and the specific supports provided in response to a request for assistance is within the discretion of the authorized agency. Refusal to act 7(3) An authorized agency may refuse to take any action in response to a request for assistance if the request deals with a matter outside the scope of this Act or if the person making the request is acting unreasonably or has provided false information to the authorized agency. S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 3 . Notices 8(1) If the identity of a person who is in possession of an intimate image is known and the authorized agency has reason to believe that the person has distributed the image without consent or is about to distribute the image without consent, the agency may send a written notice to that person. Content of notice 8(2) A notice under subsection (1) may include (a) notice that the person who is or is depicted in the intimate image does not consent to the distribution of the image; and (b) a summary of the legal consequences that may result from the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image. S.M. 2024, c. 17, s. 6 . Referral to police 9 In addition to any other supports provided, an authorized agency may assist a person who made a request for assistance to make a complaint to a police service. Director may act 10 If an authorized agency has not been designated by regulation, the director may take any of the actions set out in sections 7 to 9 or arrange for third parties to take those actions. TORTS RESPECTING INTIMATE IMAGES Non-consensual distribution of intimate image 11(1) 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 to the distribution, or being reckless as to whether or not that person consented to the distribution, commits a tort against that other person. Threat to distribute intimate image11(1.1) A person who threatens to distribute an intimate image of another person commits a tort against that other person. Action without proof of damage 11(2) An action for the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image or the threatened distribution of an intimate image may be brought without proof of damage. S.M. 2024, c. 17, s. 7 ; S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 5 . When expectation of privacy not lost 12(1) In an action for the non-consensual distribution of a personal intimate image, the person in the image does not lose their expectation of privacy in respect of the image if they (a) consented to another person recording the image; or (b) provided the image to another person; in circumstances where that other person knew or ought reasonably to have known that the image was not to be distributed to any other person. Expectation of privacy in image where person not identifiable 12(2) A person may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a personal intimate image of them in which they are not identifiable. Expectation of privacy not lost on death 12(3) A reasonable expectation of privacy in a personal intimate image is not lost by reason of the death of the person in the image S.M. 2024, c. 17, s. 8 ; S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 6 . Reverse onus 12.1 In an action for the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image, (a) the distribution of the intimate image is presumed to have occurred without the consent of the person who is or is depicted in the image; and (b) the defendant must establish that they had reasonable grounds to believe that they had consent to distribute the image at the time that the image was distributed. S.M. 2023, c. 23 , s 2. Defence — public interest 13(1) It is a defence to an action for the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image if the distribution of the intimate image is in the public interest and does not extend beyond what is in the public interest. Examples of public interest 13(2) The distribution of an intimate image is in the public interest if the distribution occurred in good faith for the purposes of (a) a law enforcement investigation; or (b) a court proceeding. Limitation 13(3) The distribution of an intimate image is not in the public interest solely because the person who is or is depicted in the image is a public figure. S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 7 . Remedies in action for distribution of intimate image 14(1) In an action for the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image, the court may (a) award damages to the plaintiff, including general, special, aggravated and punitive damages; (b) order the defendant to account to the plaintiff for any profits that have accrued to the defendant as a result of the non-consensual distribution of the intimate image; (b.1) order the defendant to make every reasonable effort to make the intimate image unavailable to others, including by (i) deleting or destroying all copies of the intimate image in their possession or control, (ii) having the intimate image removed from any online platform operated by an Internet intermediary, and (iii) having the intimate image de-indexed from any search engine; (b.2) order an Internet intermediary or other person to make every reasonable effort to remove and, where applicable, de-index the intimate image within a time period specified in the order; (c) issue an injunction on such terms and with such conditions that the court determines appropriate in the circumstances; and (d) make any other order that the court considers just and reasonable in the circumstances. Consideration re award of damages 14(2) In awarding damages in an action for the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image, the court must not have regard to any order made under clause (1)⁠(b). S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 8 . Remedies in action for threatened distribution 14.1 In an action for the threatened distribution of an intimate image, the court may (a) award damages to the plaintiff, including general, special, aggravated and punitive damages; (b) order the defendant (i) not to distribute the intimate image, and (ii) to make every reasonable effort to make the intimate image unavailable to others, including by deleting or destroying all copies of the intimate image in their possession or control; (c) issue an injunction on such terms and with such conditions that the court determines appropriate in the circumstances; and (d) make any other order that the court considers just and reasonable in the circumstances. S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 9 . Publication ban 15(1) In an action for the non-consensual distribution of an intimate image or the threatened distribution of an intimate image, the court may make an order prohibiting the publication of the name of any party to the action or any information likely to identify a party if it considers the making of the order to be in the interests of justice. Court to consider views of plaintiff on publication ban 15(2) When considering whether to order or revoke a publication ban, the court must have due regard to whether the plaintiff supports or objects to a publication ban. S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 10 . Liability of Internet intermediaries limited 15.1(1) An Internet intermediary is not liable in an action under this Act if the Internet intermediary has taken reasonable steps to address unlawful distribution of intimate images in the use of its services. Authority of court 15.1(2) Nothing in this section limits the court's authority under section 14 to make an order against an Internet intermediary. S.M. 2026, c. 2, s. 11 . Other rights not affected 16 A right of action under this Act is in addition to, and does not affect, any other right of action or remedy available to a person under another Act. REVIEW, C.C.S.M. REFERENCE AND COMING INTO FORCE Review 17 Within five years after this Act comes into force, the minister must undertake a comprehensive review of it and must, within one year after the review is undertaken or within such further time as the Legislative Assembly may allow, submit a report on the review to the Assembly. C.C.S.M. reference 18 This Act may be referred to as chapter N93 of the Continuing Consolidation of Statutes of Manitoba . S.M. 2024, c. 17, s. 10 . Coming into force 19 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation. NOTE: S.M. 2015, c. 42 came into force by proclamation on January 15, 2016.