II 

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. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Curbing Online Non5 consensual Sexually Explicit Nudity Transfers Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CONSENT Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF UNSOLICITED VISUAL DEPIC8 TIONS OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section: 


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•S 3986 IS

1 (A) CONSENT.—The term ‘‘consent’’ has 

2 the meaning given the term in section 1309 of 

3 the Violence Against Women Act Reauthoriza4 tion Act of 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851). 

5 (B) MACHINE-MANIPULATED MEDIA.—The 

6 term ‘‘machine-manipulated media’’ means a 

7 video, image, or audio recording generated or 

8 substantially modified using machine-learning 

9 techniques in order to— 

10 (i) falsely depict— 

11 (I) an event; or 

12 (II) the speech or conduct of an 

13 individual; or 

14 (ii) depict an individual who does not 

15 exist. 

16 (C) SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT.—The 

17 term ‘‘sexually explicit conduct’’ has the mean18 ing given the term in section 2256(2)(B) of title 

19 18, United States Code. 

20 (D) THIRD-PARTY PROVIDER.—The term 

21 ‘‘third-party provider’’ means— 

22 (i) a provider of an interactive com23 puter service (as defined in section 230 of 

24 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

25 U.S.C. 230)); or 


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1 (ii) any other entity that transmits, 

2 routes, or provides connections for elec3 tronic communications. 

4 (E) VISUAL DEPICTION.—The term ‘‘visual 

5 depiction’’— 

6 (i) has the meaning given the term in 

7 section 1466A of title 18, United States 

8 Code; and 

9 (ii) includes machine-manipulated 

10 media. 

11 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith12 standing the application of the terms ‘‘sexually ex13 plicit conduct’’ and ‘‘visual depiction’’ to only minors 

14 in chapter 110 and section 1466A, respectively, of 

15 title 18, United States Code, the applicability of 

16 those terms shall not be limited to minors for pur17 poses of this section. 

18 (b) CIVIL ACTION.— 

19 (1) RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an individual 18 

21 years of age or older, or any person that is not 

22 an individual, (referred to in this subparagraph 

23 as the ‘‘sender’’) knowingly sends an individual 

24 (referred to in this subparagraph as the ‘‘recipi25 ent’’) a visual depiction of sexually explicit conVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Apr 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3986.IS S3986

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1 duct, in or affecting interstate or foreign com2 merce or using any means or facility of inter3 state or foreign commerce, without the consent 

4 of the recipient, knowing that, or recklessly dis5 regarding whether, the recipient has not pro6 vided consent to receive the visual depiction, the 

7 recipient may bring a civil action against the 

8 sender in an appropriate district court of the 

9 United States for relief under paragraph (2). 

10 (B) RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF CERTAIN INDI11 VIDUALS.—If an individual who receives a vis12 ual depiction of sexually explicit conduct as de13 scribed in subparagraph (A) is under 18 years 

14 of age, incompetent, or incapacitated, a legal 

15 guardian of the individual may bring a civil ac16 tion under that subparagraph on behalf of the 

17 individual. 

18 (C) PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR MINORS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a civil action is 

20 brought under subparagraph (A) on behalf 

21 of an individual who is a minor when the 

22 complaint is filed or by an individual who 

23 was a minor when the acts giving rise to 

24 the civil action took place, the plaintiff 


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1 may elect to use the plaintiff’s initials in 

2 all filings with the court. 

3 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—If a plaintiff 

4 elects to proceed using the plaintiff’s ini5 tials under clause (i), the court and each 

6 other party to the action shall use the 

7 plaintiff’s initials in— 

8 (I) any order, filing, or other 

9 such document; and 

10 (II) any proceeding that is tran11 scribed by a court reporter. 

12 (D) EXCEPTIONS.—A civil action under 

13 subparagraph (A) may not be brought 

14 against— 

15 (i) a third-party provider, to the ex16 tent that the provider is transmitting, 

17 routing, or providing connections of elec18 tronic communications initiated by or at 

19 the direction of another person; 

20 (ii) a person who sends a visual depic21 tion for a good faith medical, educational, 

22 or law enforcement purpose; or 

23 (iii) a person who lawfully publishes a 

24 visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct 


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1 on a website that requires users to be not 

2 less than 18 years of age. 

3 (2) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought under 

4 paragraph (1), an individual may obtain— 

5 (A) either— 

6 (i) statutory damages of not more 

7 than $500; or 

8 (ii) compensatory damages for emo9 tional distress; 

10 (B) reasonable attorney fees and costs; and 

11 (C) a temporary restraining order, a pre12 liminary injunction, or a permanent injunction 

13 ordering the defendant to cease sending visual 

14 depictions of sexually explicit conduct to the 

15 plaintiff without consent. 

16 (3) RELATION TO CRIMINAL LAWS.—Nothing in 

17 this subsection shall be construed to modify, impair, 

18 or supersede any provision of criminal law. 

19 (c) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this section, 

20 or the application of such provision to any person or cir21 cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 

22 of this section, and the application of the provision to any 

23 other person or circumstance, shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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