[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3986 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3986

   To establish a private right of action against a person who sends 
      unsolicited visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 20, 2024

Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a private right of action against a person who sends 
      unsolicited visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Curbing Online Non-consensual 
Sexually Explicit Nudity Transfers Act'' or the ``CONSENT Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF UNSOLICITED VISUAL DEPICTIONS OF SEXUALLY 
              EXPLICIT CONDUCT.

    (a) Definitions.--
            (1) In general.--In this section:
                    (A) Consent.--The term ``consent'' has the meaning 
                given the term in section 1309 of the Violence Against 
                Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851).
                    (B) Machine-manipulated media.--The term ``machine-
                manipulated media'' means a video, image, or audio 
                recording generated or substantially modified using 
                machine-learning techniques in order to--
                            (i) falsely depict--
                                    (I) an event; or
                                    (II) the speech or conduct of an 
                                individual; or
                            (ii) depict an individual who does not 
                        exist.
                    (C) Sexually explicit conduct.--The term ``sexually 
                explicit conduct'' has the meaning given the term in 
                section 2256(2)(B) of title 18, United States Code.
                    (D) Third-party provider.--The term ``third-party 
                provider'' means--
                            (i) a provider of an interactive computer 
                        service (as defined in section 230 of the 
                        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230)); or
                            (ii) any other entity that transmits, 
                        routes, or provides connections for electronic 
                        communications.
                    (E) Visual depiction.--The term ``visual 
                depiction''--
                            (i) has the meaning given the term in 
                        section 1466A of title 18, United States Code; 
                        and
                            (ii) includes machine-manipulated media.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Notwithstanding the application 
        of the terms ``sexually explicit conduct'' and ``visual 
        depiction'' to only minors in chapter 110 and section 1466A, 
        respectively, of title 18, United States Code, the 
        applicability of those terms shall not be limited to minors for 
        purposes of this section.
    (b) Civil Action.--
            (1) Right of action.--
                    (A) In general.--If an individual 18 years of age 
                or older, or any person that is not an individual, 
                (referred to in this subparagraph as the ``sender'') 
                knowingly sends an individual (referred to in this 
                subparagraph as the ``recipient'') a visual depiction 
                of sexually explicit conduct, in or affecting 
                interstate or foreign commerce or using any means or 
                facility of interstate or foreign commerce, without the 
                consent of the recipient, knowing that, or recklessly 
                disregarding whether, the recipient has not provided 
                consent to receive the visual depiction, the recipient 
                may bring a civil action against the sender in an 
                appropriate district court of the United States for 
                relief under paragraph (2).
                    (B) Rights on behalf of certain individuals.--If an 
                individual who receives a visual depiction of sexually 
                explicit conduct as described in subparagraph (A) is 
                under 18 years of age, incompetent, or incapacitated, a 
                legal guardian of the individual may bring a civil 
                action under that subparagraph on behalf of the 
                individual.
                    (C) Privacy protection for minors.--
                            (i) In general.--If a civil action is 
                        brought under subparagraph (A) on behalf of an 
                        individual who is a minor when the complaint is 
                        filed or by an individual who was a minor when 
                        the acts giving rise to the civil action took 
                        place, the plaintiff may elect to use the 
                        plaintiff's initials in all filings with the 
                        court.
                            (ii) Requirement.--If a plaintiff elects to 
                        proceed using the plaintiff's initials under 
                        clause (i), the court and each other party to 
                        the action shall use the plaintiff's initials 
                        in--
                                    (I) any order, filing, or other 
                                such document; and
                                    (II) any proceeding that is 
                                transcribed by a court reporter.
                    (D) Exceptions.--A civil action under subparagraph 
                (A) may not be brought against--
                            (i) a third-party provider, to the extent 
                        that the provider is transmitting, routing, or 
                        providing connections of electronic 
                        communications initiated by or at the direction 
                        of another person;
                            (ii) a person who sends a visual depiction 
                        for a good faith medical, educational, or law 
                        enforcement purpose; or
                            (iii) a person who lawfully publishes a 
                        visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct 
                        on a website that requires users to be not less 
                        than 18 years of age.
            (2) Relief.--In a civil action brought under paragraph (1), 
        an individual may obtain--
                    (A) either--
                            (i) statutory damages of not more than 
                        $500; or
                            (ii) compensatory damages for emotional 
                        distress;
                    (B) reasonable attorney fees and costs; and
                    (C) a temporary restraining order, a preliminary 
                injunction, or a permanent injunction ordering the 
                defendant to cease sending visual depictions of 
                sexually explicit conduct to the plaintiff without 
                consent.
            (3) Relation to criminal laws.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to modify, impair, or supersede any 
        provision of criminal law.
    (c) Severability.--If any provision of this section, or the 
application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to 
be unconstitutional, the remainder of this section, and the application 
of the provision to any other person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected.
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