[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1243-H1244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1045
  PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM RAMPANT FORMS OF ONLINE SEXUAL HARASSMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Virginia (Ms. McClellan) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to underscore the pressing 
need to protect Americans from rampant forms of online sexual 
harassment.
  With the widespread adoption of social media, dating apps, and other 
technologies, we are seeing a concerning rise in inappropriate online 
behavior that impacts users, including our own children.
  For too long, Congress has failed to pass legislation that keeps up 
with the

[[Page H1244]]

rapidly evolving digital landscape and the new challenges posed by 
these developments.
  In particular, users--men, women, and children--are facing 
concerningly high rates of cyberflashing.
  Cyberflashing can include transferal of sexually explicit images, 
videos, and pictures without consent via social media, messaging apps, 
WiFi, Bluetooth, and even AirDrop.
  The rise in cyberflashing affects everyone, including everyday users, 
celebrities, and children.
  Over half of women between the ages of 18 and 29 have received an 
explicit image they never asked for, and overall, 32 percent of women 
and 30 percent of men have received unsolicited explicit images. 
Celebrities including Keke Palmer and Chrishell Stause, have also dealt 
with cyberflashing.
  Most concerning, cyberflashing is impacting our children, with a 
recent study estimating that 76 percent of girls aged 12 to 18 years 
old have been exposed to unsolicited nude images.
  These issues are further exacerbated by the development of artificial 
intelligence and machine learning, which is giving rise to unregulated 
deepfakes, personal image hacking, and more.
  The Stanford Internet Observatory and Thorn found that AI 
technologies exacerbate online sexual exploitation and contribute to 
the creation of child sexual abuse material.
  As a mother of two children, I am fighting to address these issues 
and protect users from unwanted, nonconsensual, and inappropriate 
sexual behavior. If someone flashed you on the street, they would be 
arrested, but if they flash you through your phone, nothing happens.
  Thanks to my work as a State legislator, it is illegal to send 
unsolicited nude photos in Virginia as of January 1, 2022. Now in 
Congress, I am continuing those efforts to make it illegal nationwide 
by introducing the Curbing Online Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit 
Nudity Transfers Act, or the CONSENT Act.
  I am proud that this is a bipartisan, bicameral bill with Congressman 
Nathaniel Moran of Texas and Senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Steve 
Daines of Montana.
  The CONSENT Act ensures a private right of action against individuals 
who knowingly send unsolicited, nonconsensual sexually explicit visual 
images, whether they are unaltered or manipulated by machine learning 
or AI.
  It allows an individual to obtain either statutory damages of up to 
$500 or compensatory damages for emotional distress, reimbursement for 
reasonable attorney fees, and a temporary restraining order to cease 
receiving sexually explicit images from the sender. This legislation 
also safeguards the privacy of minors by empowering legal guardians to 
bring a civil action on their behalf and elect to use the plaintiff's 
initials in all further court proceedings.
  I am grateful that the CONSENT Act enjoys a wide coalition of 
support. This bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the dating app 
Bumble, the National District Attorneys Association, the National 
Organization for Women, the Virginia chapter of the National 
Organization for Women, the National Women's Political Caucus, and the 
Richmond YWCA.
  The CONSENT Act will address the privacy and safety concerns of users 
and help ensure individuals have legal recourse against these troubling 
situations.
  I look forward to advocating for this legislation this Congress and 
urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it and protect 
America's online users and our children from cyberflashing.

                          ____________________