[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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