II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4991 

To prevent the distribution of intimate visual depictions without consent. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 

Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prevent the distribution of intimate visual depictions 

without consent. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Preventing Rampant Online Technological Exploitation 

6 and Criminal Trafficking Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘PRO7 TECT Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Severability clause. 


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TITLE I—REGULATING THE UPLOADING OF PORNOGRAPHIC 

IMAGES TO ONLINE PLATFORMS 

Sec. 101. Verification obligations of covered platform operators. 

Sec. 102. Removal of images distributed without consent. 

Sec. 103. Obligations of users. 

TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 201. Civil enforcement. 

Sec. 202. Criminal prohibition on nonconsensual distribution of intimate visual 

depictions. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the United States, reports of child sexual 

4 abuse material (referred to in this section as 

5 ‘‘CSAM’’) have grown exponentially in recent years, 

6 from 3,000 reports in 1998 to more than 1,000,000 

7 in 2014 and 18,400,000 in 2018. The New York 

8 Times called it an ‘‘almost unfathomable’’ increase 

9 in criminal behavior. 

10 (2) The National Center for Missing and Ex11 ploited Children (referred to in this section as 

12 ‘‘NCMEC’’), which is based in the United States, re13 corded more than 29,300,000 reports of suspected 

14 CSAM to its CyberTipline in 2021, the highest num15 ber of reports ever received in a single year and a 

16 35 percent increase from 2020. Those reports in17 cluded 85,000,000 images, videos, and other files of 

18 suspected CSAM and incident-related content. 


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1 (3) Recent trends reported by NCMEC include 

2 increasingly graphic and violent sexual abuse im3 ages, and videos of infants and young children. 

4 (4) The Daily, a podcast hosted by the New 

5 York Times, reported in 2019 that CSAM had so 

6 overwhelmed law enforcement agencies in the United 

7 States that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for 

8 example, had prioritized investigating material de9 picting infants and toddlers, not older children. 

10 (5) The COVID–19 pandemic has resulted in a 

11 surge in the online distribution of CSAM, which was 

12 remarkably high even before the pandemic. During 

13 the pandemic, NCMEC reported a 106 percent in14 crease in the sharing of CSAM globally. The in15 creased number of offenders exchanging CSAM dur16 ing lockdowns may continue to stimulate demand for 

17 CSAM beyond the lockdowns as well. 

18 (6) Project Arachnid is a web platform adminis19 tered by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection 

20 (referred to in this section as ‘‘C3P’’) that is de21 signed to detect known images of CSAM and issue 

22 removal notices to electronic service providers when 

23 possible. C3P has reported, ‘‘It is a common mis24 conception that CSAM and harmful-abusive content 

25 are relegated solely to the dark web.’’. In fact, 97 


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1 percent of the illegal media detected by Project 

2 Arachnid hides in plain sight on the clear web on 

3 image or file hosting services, forums, content deliv4 ery networks, and both mainstream adult pornog5 raphy sites, such as Pornhub, XVideos, OnlyFans, 

6 and YouPorn, and fringe adult pornography sites. 

7 (7) In 2021, NCMEC reported that a majority 

8 of CSAM reports, more than 29,157,083 out of 

9 29,397,681, came from electronic service providers. 

10 (8) An alarming and increasing number of 

11 adults are being depicted in online pornography 

12 without their knowledge or consent. These individ13 uals are often victims of sexual abuse, sex traf14 ficking, rape, sexual exploitation, sextortion, and 

15 forms of image-based sexual abuse such as non16 consensual distribution of sexually explicit material. 

17 (9) Most pornography websites do not effec18 tively verify the age of the users who upload content 

19 to their platforms. Nor do these websites make an 

20 effort to effectively verify the age, consent, or iden21 tity of all individuals who are depicted in the porno22 graphic content. 

23 (10) Pornography websites attract hundreds of 

24 millions of visitors daily. The leading pornography 

25 website in 2020, for example, reported attracting 


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1 more than 3,500,000,000 monthly users, which ex2 ceeds the traffic of Netflix, Twitter, Instagram, 

3 Pinterest, or LinkedIn. 

4 (11) Pornography websites profit from the con5 tent uploaded to their platforms, including content 

6 that depicts or involves rape, child exploitation and 

7 abuse, and sex trafficking. In 2019, 6 high-level in8 dividuals employed by an online pornographic dis9 tributor were convicted of sex trafficking. Over an 

10 11-year period, that platform generated more than 

11 $17,000,000 in revenue. 

12 (12) The ongoing exploitation of underage or 

13 nonconsenting individuals by highly visited pornog14 raphy websites is evidenced by a recent series of suc15 cessful lawsuits. One case, involving 22 victims of 

16 sex trafficking and fraud, concluded in a nearly 

17 $13,000,000 verdict against a pornography content 

18 producer who coerced women and children into pro19 ducing sexual content. Another 34 women, some of 

20 whom are victims of child sex trafficking, filed a 

21 lawsuit against a pornographic website for failing to 

22 take proper precautions to verify the content 

23 uploaded to its platform and monetizing the illegal 

24 content. 


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1 (13) The internet has revolutionized the por2 nography industry, making pornographic content in3 comparably more available, accessible, affordable, 

4 and anonymous than at any previous time in the his5 tory of the United States. Today, substantial majori6 ties of teenagers have viewed pornography. A United 

7 States population-based probability study found that 

8 84 percent of males and 57 percent of females be9 tween the ages of 14 and 18 have viewed pornog10 raphy, belying the industry’s faux status as so-called 

11 ‘‘adult entertainment’’. Moreover, pornography has 

12 contributed to the normalization of sexual violence 

13 among the youth of the United States. Numerous 

14 studies have demonstrated that viewing pornography 

15 harms youth, as it contributes to sexually violent at16 titudes and conduct towards children and adults and 

17 creates unrealistic expectations for intimate relation18 ships. Additionally, research has demonstrated that 

19 the demand for online pornography has fueled an in20 crease in purchasing sex from prostituted or sex 

21 trafficked individuals. 

22 (14) The online pornography industry has re23 mained unchecked and generally immune from regu24 lations. Online creators and distributors of porno25 graphic content should be held to standards that reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Oct 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4991.IS S4991

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1 quire informed and thorough consent as well as age2 verification. Currently, no substantive laws govern 

3 consent in pornography, which has permitted ramp4 ant abuses to occur. 

5 (15) Companies should not profit from the sex6 ual exploitation of children and adults. Requiring 

7 pornographic websites to verify the age, consent, and 

8 identity of individuals appearing in pornographic 

9 content on their platforms would substantially curb 

10 the rampant exploitation of all children and adults 

11 online. 

12 (16) The harms to victims of CSAM and image13 based sexual abuse are deep and enduring. Every 

14 time an image or video of their exploitation is 

15 shared, their abuse is repeated and amplified. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

18 (1) COERCED CONSENT.—The term ‘‘coerced 

19 consent’’ means purported consent obtained from a 

20 person— 

21 (A) through fraud, duress, misrepresenta22 tion, undue influence, or nondisclosure; 

23 (B) who lacks capacity; or 

24 (C) though exploiting or leveraging the 

25 person’s— 


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1 (i) immigration status; 

2 (ii) pregnancy; 

3 (iii) disability; 

4 (iv) addiction; 

5 (v) juvenile status; or 

6 (vi) economic circumstances. 

7 (2) CONSENT.—The term ‘‘consent’’— 

8 (A) means an agreement that is informed 

9 and thorough; and 

10 (B) does not include coerced consent. 

11 (3) COVERED PLATFORM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

13 platform’’ means an interactive computer serv14 ice that hosts or makes available to the general 

15 public pornographic images. 

16 (B) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—For pur17 poses of subparagraph (A), the availability of 

18 pornographic images to a group of subscribers 

19 shall be considered availability to the general 

20 public if any member of the general public (sub21 ject to reasonable limitations) can obtain a sub22 scription. 

23 (4) COVERED PLATFORM OPERATOR.—The 

24 term ‘‘covered platform operator’’ means a provider 

25 of a covered platform. 


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1 (5) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The 

2 term ‘‘interactive computer service’’ has the meaning 

3 given the term in section 230(f) of the Communica4 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

5 (6) INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTION.—The term 

6 ‘‘intimate visual depiction’’ means any visual depic7 tion— 

8 (A) of an individual who is reasonably 

9 identifiable from the visual depiction itself or 

10 information displayed in connection with the 

11 visual depiction, including through— 

12 (i) facial recognition; 

13 (ii) an identifying marking on the in14 dividual, including a birthmark or piercing; 

15 (iii) an identifying feature of the 

16 background of the visual depiction; 

17 (iv) voice matching; or 

18 (v) written confirmation from an indi19 vidual who is responsible, in whole or in 

20 part, for the creation or development of the 

21 visual depiction; and 

22 (B) in which— 

23 (i) the individual depicted is engaging 

24 in sexually explicit conduct; or 


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1 (ii) the naked genitals, anus, pubic 

2 area, or post-pubescent female nipple of 

3 the individual depicted are visible. 

4 (7) PORNOGRAPHIC IMAGE.—The term ‘‘porno5 graphic image’’ means— 

6 (A) any visual depiction of actual or 

7 feigned sexually explicit conduct; or 

8 (B) any intimate visual depiction. 

9 (8) USER.—The term ‘‘user’’— 

10 (A) means an individual who is an infor11 mation content provider (as defined in section 

12 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

13 U.S.C. 230(f))); and 

14 (B) with respect to a covered platform, 

15 means an individual described in subparagraph 

16 (A) who is responsible, in whole or in part, for 

17 the creation or development of pornographic im18 ages hosted or made available by the covered 

19 platform. 

20 (b) TERMS DEFINED IN SECTION 2256 OF TITLE 18, 

21 UNITED STATES CODE.—For purposes of subsection 

22 (a)— 

23 (1) the term ‘‘computer’’ has the meaning given 

24 the term in section 2256 of title 18, United States 

25 Code; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘sexually explicit conduct’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 2256(2)(A) of 

3 title 18, United States Code; and 

4 (3) the term ‘‘visual depiction’’ means a photo5 graph, film, video, or modified photograph, film, or 

6 video, whether made or produced by electronic, me7 chanical, or other means. 

8 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. 

9 If any provision of this Act or an amendment made 

10 by this Act, or the application of such a provision or 

11 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

12 unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act and 

13 amendments made by this Act, and the application of such 

14 provisions and amendments to any other person or cir15 cumstance, shall not be affected thereby. 

16 TITLE I—REGULATING THE 

17 UPLOADING OF PORNO18 GRAPHIC IMAGES TO ONLINE 

19 PLATFORMS 

20 SEC. 101. VERIFICATION OBLIGATIONS OF COVERED PLAT21 FORM OPERATORS. 

22 (a) VERIFICATION OF USERS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered platform operator 

24 may not upload or allow a user to upload a porno25 graphic image to the covered platform unless the opVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Oct 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4991.IS S4991

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1 erator has verified, in accordance with paragraph 

2 (2)— 

3 (A) the identity of the user; and 

4 (B) that the user is not less than 18 years 

5 old. 

6 (2) MEANS OF COMPLIANCE.—In carrying out 

7 paragraph (1), a covered platform operator shall 

8 verify the identity and age of a user by— 

9 (A) requiring use of an adult access code 

10 or adult personal identification number; 

11 (B) accepting a digital certificate that 

12 verifies age; or 

13 (C) using any other reasonable measure of 

14 age verification that the Attorney General has 

15 determined to be feasible with available tech16 nology. 

17 (3) INSUFFICIENT USER CONFIRMATION.— 

18 Merely requiring a user to confirm that the user is 

19 not less than 18 years of age, without independent 

20 means of verification, shall not satisfy the require21 ment under paragraph (1). 

22 (b) VERIFICATION OF PARTICIPANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered platform operator 

24 may not upload or allow a user to upload a porno25 graphic image to the covered platform unless the opVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Oct 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4991.IS S4991

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1 erator has verified, in accordance with paragraph 

2 (2), that each individual appearing in the porno3 graphic image— 

4 (A) was not less than 18 years of age when 

5 the pornographic image was created; 

6 (B) has provided explicit written evidence 

7 of consent for each sex act in which the indi8 vidual engaged during the creation of the por9 nographic image; and 

10 (C) has provided explicit written consent 

11 for the distribution of the specific pornographic 

12 image. 

13 (2) SEPARATE CONSENT FOR SEX ACT AND FOR

14 DISTRIBUTION OF IMAGE.— 

15 (A) CONSENT FOR SEX ACT.—Consent de16 scribed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) 

17 does not imply or constitute evidence of consent 

18 described in subparagraph (C) of that para19 graph. 

20 (B) CONSENT FOR DISTRIBUTION OF

21 IMAGE.—Consent described in subparagraph 

22 (C) of paragraph (1) does not imply or con23 stitute evidence of consent described in sub24 paragraph (B) of that paragraph. 


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1 (3) MEANS OF COMPLIANCE.—In carrying out 

2 paragraph (1), a covered platform operator shall ob3 tain, either from the user seeking to upload the por4 nographic image or through other means— 

5 (A) a consent form created or approved by 

6 the Attorney General under paragraph (4) from 

7 each individual appearing in the pornographic 

8 image that includes— 

9 (i) the name, date of birth, and signa10 ture of the individual; 

11 (ii) a statement that the individual is 

12 not less than 18 years of age, unless no 

13 reasonable person could conclude that the 

14 individual is less than 30 years of age; 

15 (iii) a statement that the consent is 

16 for distribution of the specific porno17 graphic image; 

18 (iv) the geographic area and medium, 

19 meaning online, print, or other distribution 

20 method, for which the individual provides 

21 consent to distribution of the pornographic 

22 image; 

23 (v) the duration of time for which the 

24 individual provides consent to distribution 

25 of the pornographic image; 


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1 (vi) a list of the specific sex acts that 

2 the person agrees to engage in for the por3 nographic image; and 

4 (vii) a statement that explains coerced 

5 consent and that the individual has the 

6 right to withdraw the individual’s consent 

7 at any time; and 

8 (B) not less than 1 form of valid identi9 fication for each individual appearing in the 

10 pornographic image— 

11 (i) that— 

12 (I) was issued by an agency of 

13 the Federal Government or of a State, 

14 local, or foreign government; and 

15 (II) contains the name, date of 

16 birth, signature, and photograph of 

17 the individual; and 

18 (ii) on which the name, date of birth, 

19 and signature of the individual match the 

20 name, date of birth, and signature of the 

21 individual on the consent form required 

22 under subparagraph (A). 

23 (4) CREATION AND APPROVAL OF CONSENT

24 FORMS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 


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1 (A) ATTORNEY GENERAL CONSENT

2 FORM.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

4 days after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act, the Attorney General shall create and 

6 make available to the public a consent 

7 form for purposes of paragraph (3)(A). 

8 (ii) AVAILABILITY.—On and after the 

9 date that is 90 days after the date of en10 actment of this Act, a covered platform op11 erator shall make the consent form created 

12 under clause (i) available to users in both 

13 written and electronic format. 

14 (B) APPROVAL OF ALTERNATIVE CONSENT

15 FORMS.—For purposes of paragraph (3)(A), a 

16 user may submit to a covered platform an alter17 native consent form created by a user or cov18 ered platform operator if the alternative consent 

19 form has been approved by the Attorney Gen20 eral. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.—This section 

22 shall— 

23 (1) take effect on the date that is 90 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act; and 


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1 (2) apply to any pornographic image uploaded 

2 to a covered platform before, on, or after that effec3 tive date. 

4 (d) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

5 (1) OBLIGATIONS AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY

6 UNDER OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall 

7 be construed to— 

8 (A) affect any obligation of a covered plat9 form under any other provision of Federal or 

10 State law; or 

11 (B) impact or otherwise limit the criminal 

12 liability of a user or other individual under a 

13 Federal or State obscenity law. 

14 (2) FIRST AMENDMENT-PROTECTED SPEECH.— 

15 Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit 

16 or impose a prior restraint on speech that is pro17 tected by the First Amendment to the Constitution 

18 of the United States. 

19 SEC. 102. REMOVAL OF IMAGES DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT 

20 CONSENT. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.—The term 

23 ‘‘authorized representative’’, with respect to an indi24 vidual, means— 


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1 (A) a person authorized in writing under 

2 State or other applicable law by the individual 

3 to act on behalf of the individual with regard to 

4 the matter in question; or 

5 (B) in the case of an individual under the 

6 age of 18, a parent or legal guardian of the in7 dividual. 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—The term ‘‘eligible per9 son’’, with respect to a pornographic image uploaded 

10 to a covered platform, means— 

11 (A) an individual who appears in the por12 nographic image and has not provided consent 

13 to, or has withdrawn consent in compliance 

14 with the laws of the applicable jurisdiction for, 

15 the distribution of the pornographic image; 

16 (B) an authorized representative of an in17 dividual described in subparagraph (A); or 

18 (C) a Federal, State, Tribal, or local law 

19 enforcement officer acting pursuant to a valid 

20 court order. 

21 (b) MECHANISM FOR REMOVAL.—A covered platform 

22 operator shall— 

23 (1) establish a procedure for removing a porno24 graphic image from the covered platform at the re25 quest of a person; and 


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1 (2) designate 1 or more employees of the oper2 ator to be responsible for handling requests for re3 moval of pornographic images. 

4 (c) NOTICE.—A covered platform operator shall dis5 play a prominently visible notice on the website or mobile 

6 application of the covered platform that provides instruc7 tions on how a person can request the removal of a porno8 graphic image. 

9 (d) RESPONSE TO REQUESTS FOR REMOVAL.— 

10 (1) REQUESTS FROM ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—If a 

11 covered platform operator receives a request from an 

12 eligible person, through any request mechanism of13 fered by the operator under subsection (b), to re14 move a pornographic image that is being hosted by 

15 the covered platform without the consent of an indi16 vidual who appears in the pornographic image, the 

17 operator shall remove the pornographic image as 

18 quickly as possible, and in any event not later than 

19 72 hours after receiving the request. 

20 (2) REQUESTS FROM PERSONS OTHER THAN

21 ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—If a covered platform operator 

22 receives a request from a person other than an eligi23 ble person, through any request mechanism offered 

24 by the operator under subsection (b), to remove a 

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1 ered platform without the consent of an individual 

2 who appears in the pornographic image, not later 

3 than 72 hours after receiving the request— 

4 (A) the operator shall review the records of 

5 the operator with respect to the pornographic 

6 image to determine whether the pornographic 

7 image was uploaded to the platform in accord8 ance with the verification requirements under 

9 subsections (a) and (b) of section 101; and 

10 (B) if the operator determines under sub11 paragraph (A) that the pornographic image was 

12 not uploaded to the platform in accordance with 

13 the verification requirements under subsections 

14 (a) and (b) of section 101, the operator shall 

15 remove the pornographic image. 

16 (e) BLOCKING RE-UPLOADS.—In the case of a porno17 graphic image that has been removed from a covered plat18 form in accordance with this section, the covered platform 

19 operator shall block the pornographic image, and any al20 tered or edited version of the pornographic image, from 

21 being uploaded to the covered platform again. 

22 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall— 


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1 (A) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

2 take effect on the date that is 90 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act; and 

4 (B) apply to any pornographic image 

5 uploaded to a covered platform before, on, or 

6 after that effective date. 

7 (2) BLOCKING RE-UPLOADS.—Subsection (e) 

8 shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 103. OBLIGATIONS OF USERS. 

11 (a) CONSENT REQUIREMENT.—A user of a covered 

12 platform may not upload a pornographic image of an indi13 vidual to the covered platform without the consent of the 

14 individual. 

15 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONSENT.—For purposes of 

16 subsection (a), whether an individual has provided consent 

17 to the uploading of an image shall be determined in ac18 cordance with this Act and applicable State law. 

19 TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT 

20 SEC. 201. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

21 (a) VERIFICATION OBLIGATIONS OF COVERED PLAT22 FORM OPERATORS.— 

23 (1) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO VERIFY

24 USERS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

2 may impose a civil penalty on any covered plat3 form operator that violates section 101(a) in an 

4 amount of not more than $10,000 for each day 

5 during which a pornographic image remains on 

6 the covered platform in violation of that section, 

7 beginning 24 hours after the Attorney General 

8 provides notice of the violation to the operator. 

9 (B) PER-DAY AND PER-IMAGE BASIS.—A 

10 civil penalty under subparagraph (A) shall ac11 crue on a per-day and per-image basis. 

12 (C) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Notwithstanding 

13 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, 

14 the Attorney General may use the proceeds 

15 from a civil penalty collected under subpara16 graph (A) to carry out enforcement under this 

17 section. 

18 (2) CIVIL LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO VERIFY

19 PARTICIPANTS.—If a covered platform operator vio20 lates section 101(b) with respect to a pornographic 

21 image, any person aggrieved by the violation may 

22 bring a civil action against the covered platform op23 erator in an appropriate district court of the United 

24 States for damages in an amount equal to the great25 er of— 


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1 (A) $10,000 for each day during which a 

2 pornographic image remains on the covered 

3 platform in violation of that section, calculated 

4 on a per-day and per-image basis; or 

5 (B) actual damages. 

6 (b) REMOVAL OF IMAGES DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT

7 CONSENT.— 

8 (1) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO ESTAB9 LISH MECHANISM FOR REMOVAL.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

11 may impose a civil penalty on any covered plat12 form operator that violates section 102(b) in an 

13 amount of not more than $10,000 for each day 

14 during which the covered platform remains in 

15 violation of that section, beginning 24 hours 

16 after the Attorney General provides notice of 

17 the violation to the operator. 

18 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Notwithstanding 

19 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, 

20 the Attorney General may use the proceeds 

21 from a civil penalty collected under subpara22 graph (A) to carry out enforcement under this 

23 section. 

24 (2) CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO DISPLAY

25 NOTICE OF MECHANISM FOR REMOVAL.—The AttorVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Oct 08, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4991.IS S4991

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1 ney General may impose a civil penalty on any cov2 ered platform operator that violates section 102(c) 

3 in an amount of not more than $5,000 for each day 

4 during which the covered platform remains in viola5 tion of that section, beginning 24 hours after the At6 torney General provides notice of the violation to the 

7 operator. 

8 (3) CIVIL LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO MAKE

9 TIMELY REMOVAL.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a covered platform 

11 operator violates section 102(d) with respect to 

12 a pornographic image, any person aggrieved by 

13 the violation may bring a civil action against 

14 the covered platform operator in an appropriate 

15 district court of the United States for damages 

16 in an amount equal to the greater of— 

17 (i) $10,000 for each day during which 

18 the pornographic image remains on the 

19 covered platform in violation of that sec20 tion, calculated on a per-day and per-image 

21 basis; or 

22 (ii) actual damages. 

23 (B) GOOD FAITH EXCEPTION.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—A covered platform 

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1 graph (A) for a violation of section 102(d) 

2 if, in allowing the upload of a pornographic 

3 image to the covered platform, the oper4 ator reasonably relied on verification mate5 rials, in accordance with section 101(b)(3), 

6 that were later found to be fraudulent, 

7 provided that the operator removes the 

8 pornographic image not later than 24 

9 hours after discovering that the verification 

10 materials are fraudulent. 

11 (ii) FAILURE TO REMOVE.—If a cov12 ered platform operator fails to remove a 

13 pornographic image within 24 hours of dis14 covering that the verification materials are 

15 fraudulent, as described in clause (i), dam16 ages under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be 

17 calculated with respect to each day on or 

18 after the date on which that 24-hour pe19 riod expires. 

20 (4) CIVIL LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO BLOCK

21 RE-UPLOADS.—If a covered platform operator vio22 lates section 102(e) with respect to a pornographic 

23 image, any person aggrieved by the violation may 

24 bring a civil action against the covered platform op25 erator in an appropriate district court of the United 


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•S 4991 IS

1 States for damages in an amount equal to the great2 er of— 

3 (A) $10,000 for each day during which the 

4 pornographic image remains on the covered 

5 platform in violation of that section; or 

6 (B) actual damages. 

7 (c) CIVIL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATION OF USER OBLI8 GATIONS.—If a user of a covered platform violates section 

9 103 with respect to a pornographic image, any person ag10 grieved by the violation may bring a civil action against 

11 the user in an appropriate district court of the United 

12 States for damages in an amount equal to the greater of— 

13 (1) $10,000 for each day during which the por14 nographic image remains on the covered platform in 

15 violation of that section, calculated on a per-day and 

16 per-image basis; or 

17 (2) actual damages. 

18 (d) RELATION TO COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY

19 ACT.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect 

20 section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

21 U.S.C. 230). 


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•S 4991 IS

1 SEC. 202. CRIMINAL PROHIBITION ON NONCONSENSUAL 

2 DISTRIBUTION OF INTIMATE VISUAL DEPIC3 TIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 88 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 1802. Nonconsensual distribution of intimate vis8 ual depictions 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER.—The 

11 term ‘information content provider’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 230(f) of the Communica13 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

14 ‘‘(2) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The 

15 term ‘interactive computer service’ has the meaning 

16 given the term in section 230(f) of the Communica17 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

18 ‘‘(3) INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTION.—The term 

19 ‘intimate visual depiction’ means any visual depic20 tion— 

21 ‘‘(A) of an individual who is reasonably 

22 identifiable from the visual depiction itself or 

23 information displayed in connection with the 

24 visual depiction, including through— 

25 ‘‘(i) facial recognition; 


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•S 4991 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) an identifying marking on the in2 dividual, including a birthmark or piercing; 

3 ‘‘(iii) an identifying feature of the 

4 background of the visual depiction; 

5 ‘‘(iv) voice matching; or 

6 ‘‘(v) written confirmation from an in7 dividual who is responsible, in whole or in 

8 part, for the creation or development of the 

9 visual depiction; and 

10 ‘‘(B) in which— 

11 ‘‘(i) the individual depicted is engag12 ing in sexually explicit conduct; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the naked genitals, anus, pubic 

14 area, or post-pubescent female nipple of 

15 the individual depicted are visible and are 

16 depicted with the objective intent to 

17 arouse, titillate, or gratify the sexual de18 sires of a person. 

19 ‘‘(4) SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT.—The term 

20 ‘sexually explicit conduct’ has the meaning given 

21 that term in section 2256(2)(A). 

22 ‘‘(5) VISUAL DEPICTION.—The term ‘visual de23 piction’ means a photograph, film, video, or modified 

24 photograph, film, or video, whether made or pro25 duced by electronic, mechanical, or other means. 


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•S 4991 IS

1 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.—Except as provided in subsection 

2 (d), it shall be unlawful for any information content pro3 vider to knowingly use any interactive computer service 

4 to publish an intimate visual depiction of an individual 

5 with knowledge of or reckless disregard for— 

6 ‘‘(1) the lack of consent of the individual to the 

7 publication; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the reasonable expectation of the indi9 vidual that the depiction would not be published 

10 through an interactive computer service without the 

11 individual’s consent. 

12 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 

13 (b) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 

14 than 5 years, or both. 

15 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) LAW ENFORCEMENT, LAWFUL REPORTING, 

17 AND OTHER LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.—Subsection 

18 (b)— 

19 ‘‘(A) does not prohibit any lawful law en20 forcement, correctional, or intelligence activity; 

21 ‘‘(B) shall not apply to an individual acting 

22 in good faith to report unlawful activity or in 

23 pursuance of a legal or other lawful obligation; 

24 and 


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•S 4991 IS

1 ‘‘(C) shall not apply to a document produc2 tion or filing associated with a legal proceeding. 

3 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

4 this subsection shall affect the liability protection 

5 provided under section 230 of the Communications 

6 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230). 

7 ‘‘(e) VENUE AND EXTRATERRITORIALITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) VENUE.—A prosecution under this section 

9 may be brought in a district in which— 

10 ‘‘(A) the defendant or the depicted indi11 vidual resides; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the intimate visual depiction is dis13 tributed or made available. 

14 ‘‘(2) EXTRATERRITORIALITY.—There is 

15 extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense 

16 under this section if the defendant or the depicted 

17 individual is a citizen or permanent resident of the 

18 United States.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 for chapter 88 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1802. Nonconsensual distribution of intimate visual depictions.’’. 

Æ 


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