II 

Calendar No. 78 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 412 

To provide that it is unlawful to knowingly distribute private intimate visual 

depictions with reckless disregard for the individual’s lack of consent 

to the distribution, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. LEE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

GRAHAM, Mr. CRUZ, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

MAY 17, 2023 

Reported by Mr. DURBIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide that it is unlawful to knowingly distribute private 

intimate visual depictions with reckless disregard for the 

individual’s lack of consent to the distribution, and for 

other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Harmful 

3 Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 

4 2023’’ or the ‘‘SHIELD Act of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO INTIMATE VIS6 UAL DEPICTIONS. 

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

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 1802. Certain activities relating to intimate visual 

11 depictions 

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

13 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.—The term 

14 ‘communications service’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) a service provided by a person that is 

16 a common carrier, as that term is defined in 

17 section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 

18 (47 U.S.C. 153), insofar as the person is acting 

19 as a common carrier; 

20 ‘‘(B) an electronic communication service, 

21 as that term is defined in section 2510; 

22 ‘‘(C) an information service, as that term 

23 is defined in section 3 of the Communications 

24 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153); and 

25 ‘‘(D) an interactive computer service, as 

26 that term is defined in section 230(f) of the 


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1 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 230(f)). 

3 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER.—The 

4 term ‘information content provider’ has the meaning 

5 given that term in section 230(f) of the Communica6 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

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

8 ‘intimate visual depiction’ means any visual depic9 tion (as that term is defined in section 2256(5)) of 

10 an individual who is recognizable by an individual 

11 other than the depicted individual from the intimate 

12 image itself or information or text displayed in con13 nection with the intimate image itself or information 

14 or text displayed in connection with the intimate 

15 image who has attained 18 years of age at the time 

16 the intimate visual depiction is created and— 

17 ‘‘(A) who is depicted engaging in sexually 

18 explicit conduct; or 

19 ‘‘(B) whose genitals, anus, pubic area, or 

20 female nipple are unclothed and visible. 

21 ‘‘(4) VISUAL DEPICTION OF A NUDE MINOR.— 

22 The term ‘visual depiction of a nude minor’ means 

23 any visual depiction (as that term is defined in sec24 tion 2256(5)) of an individual who is recognizable by 

25 an individual other than the depicted individual from 


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1 the intimate image itself or information or text dis2 played in connection with the intimate image who 

3 was under 18 years of age at the time the visual de4 piction was created in which the actual anus, geni5 tals, or pubic area, or post-pubescent female nipple, 

6 of the minor are unclothed, visible, and displayed in 

7 a manner that does not constitute sexually explicit 

8 conduct. 

9 ‘‘(5) SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT.—The term 

10 ‘sexually explicit conduct’ has the meaning given 

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

12 ‘‘(b) OFFENSE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub14 section (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, 

15 or to distribute using any means or facility of inter16 state or foreign commerce or affecting interstate or 

17 foreign commerce, an intimate visual depiction of an 

18 individual— 

19 ‘‘(A) with knowledge of or reckless dis20 regard for the lack of consent of the individual 

21 to the distribution; 

22 ‘‘(B) where what is depicted was not volun23 tarily exposed by the individual in a public or 

24 commercial setting; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) where what is depicted is not a mat2 ter of public concern. 

3 For purposes of this paragraph, the fact that the 

4 subject of the depiction consented to the creation of 

5 the depiction shall not establish that that person 

6 consented to its distribution. 

7 ‘‘(2) MINORS.—Except as provided in sub8 section (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, 

9 or to distribute using any means or facility of inter10 state or foreign commerce or affecting interstate or 

11 foreign commerce, a visual depiction of a nude minor 

12 with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade 

13 the minor, or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire 

14 of any person. 

15 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates 

17 subsection (b), or attempts or conspires to do so, 

18 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

19 than 5 years, or both. 

20 ‘‘(2) FORFEITURE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The court, in impos22 ing a sentence on any person convicted of a vio23 lation involving intimate visual depictions or 

24 visual depictions of a nude minor under this 

25 section, or convicted of a conspiracy of a violaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S412.RS S412

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1 tion involving intimate visual depictions or vis2 ual depictions of a nude minor under this sec3 tion, shall order, in addition to any other sen4 tence imposed and irrespective of any provision 

5 of State law, that such person forfeit to the 

6 United States— 

7 ‘‘(i) any material distributed in viola8 tion of this section; 

9 ‘‘(ii) such person’s interest in prop10 erty, real or personal, constituting or de11 rived from any gross proceeds of such vio12 lation, or any property traceable to such 

13 property, obtained or retained directly or 

14 indirectly as a result of such violation; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) any property, real or personal, 

16 used or intended to be used to commit or 

17 to facilitate the commission of such of18 fense. 

19 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—Section 413 of the 

20 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853), 

21 with the exception of subsections (a) and (d), 

22 applies to the criminal forfeiture of property 

23 pursuant to subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(3) RESTITUTION.—Restitution shall be avail2 able as provided in section 2264 of title 18, United 

3 States Code. 

4 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.— 

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

6 AND OTHER LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.—This section— 

7 ‘‘(A) does not prohibit any lawfully author8 ized investigative, protective, or intelligence ac9 tivity of a law enforcement agency of the 

10 United States, a State, or a political subdivision 

11 of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the 

12 United States; 

13 ‘‘(B) shall not apply in the case of an indi14 vidual acting in good faith to report unlawful 

15 activity or in pursuance of a legal or profes16 sional or other lawful obligation; and 

17 ‘‘(C) shall not apply in the case of a docu18 ment production or filing associated with a legal 

19 proceeding. 

20 ‘‘(2) SERVICE PROVIDERS.—This section shall 

21 not apply to any provider of a communications serv22 ice with regard to content provided by another infor23 mation content provider unless the provider of the 

24 communications service intentionally solicits, or 


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1 knowingly and predominantly distributes, such con2 tent. 

3 ‘‘(e) THREATS.—Any person who threatens to com4 mit an offense under subsection (b) shall be punished as 

5 provided in subsection (c). 

6 ‘‘(f) EXTRATERRITORIALITY.—There is 

7 extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under 

8 this section if the defendant or the depicted individual is 

9 a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(g) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—The following shall be 

11 subject to forfeiture to the United States in accordance 

12 with provisions of chapter 46 and no property right shall 

13 exist in them: 

14 ‘‘(1) Any material distributed in violation of 

15 this chapter. 

16 ‘‘(2) Any property, real or personal, that was 

17 used, in any manner, to commit or to facilitate the 

18 commission of a violation involving intimate visual 

19 depictions or visual depictions of a nude minor 

20 under this section or a conspiracy of a violation in21 volving intimate visual depictions or visual depictions 

22 of a nude minor under this section. 

23 ‘‘(3) Any property, real or personal, consti24 tuting, or traceable to the gross proceeds obtained or 

25 retained in connection with or as a result of a violaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 May 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S412.RS S412

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1 tion involving intimate visual depictions or visual de2 pictions of a nude minor under this section, a con3 spiracy of a violation involving intimate visual depic4 tions or visual depictions of a nude minor under this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec7 tion shall be construed to limit the application of any other 

8 relevant law, including section 2252 of this title.’’. 

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

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

11 by inserting after the item relating to section 1801 the 

12 following: 

‘‘1802. Certain activities relating to intimate visual depictions.’’. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Harmful 

15 Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 

16 2023’’ or the ‘‘SHIELD Act of 2023’’. 

17 SEC. 2. CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO INTIMATE VIS18 UAL DEPICTIONS. 

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

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘§ 1802. Certain activities relating to intimate visual 

22 depictions 

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

24 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.—The term 

25 ‘communications service’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a service provided by a person that is 

2 a common carrier, as that term is defined in sec3 tion 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

4 U.S.C. 153), insofar as the person is acting as 

5 a common carrier; 

6 ‘‘(B) an electronic communication service, 

7 as that term is defined in section 2510; 

8 ‘‘(C) an information service, as that term is 

9 defined in section 3 of the Communications Act 

10 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153); and 

11 ‘‘(D) an interactive computer service, as 

12 that term is defined in section 230(f) of the Com13 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

14 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER.—The 

15 term ‘information content provider’ has the meaning 

16 given that 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 (as that term is defined in section 2256(5)) of an 

21 individual who is recognizable by an individual other 

22 than the depicted individual from the intimate image 

23 itself or information or text displayed in connection 

24 with the intimate image who has attained 18 years 


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1 of age at the time the intimate visual depiction is cre2 ated and— 

3 ‘‘(A) who is depicted engaging in sexually 

4 explicit conduct; or 

5 ‘‘(B) whose genitals, anus, pubic area, or fe6 male nipple are unclothed and visible. 

7 ‘‘(4) VISUAL DEPICTION OF A NUDE MINOR.—The 

8 term ‘visual depiction of a nude minor’ means any 

9 visual depiction (as that term is defined in section 

10 2256(5)) of an individual who is recognizable by an 

11 individual other than the depicted individual from 

12 the intimate image itself or information or text dis13 played in connection with the intimate image who 

14 was under 18 years of age at the time the visual de15 piction was created in which the actual anus, geni16 tals, or pubic area, or post-pubescent female nipple, 

17 of the minor are unclothed, visible, and displayed in 

18 a manner that does not constitute sexually explicit 

19 conduct. 

20 ‘‘(5) SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT.—The term 

21 ‘sexually explicit conduct’ has the meaning given that 

22 term in section 2256(2)(A). 

23 ‘‘(b) OFFENSES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub25 section (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, or 


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1 to knowingly distribute using any means or facility 

2 of interstate or foreign commerce or affecting inter3 state or foreign commerce, an intimate visual depic4 tion of an individual— 

5 ‘‘(A) with knowledge of the lack of consent 

6 of the individual to the distribution; 

7 ‘‘(B) where what is depicted was not volun8 tarily exposed by the individual in a public or 

9 commercial setting; and 

10 ‘‘(C) where what is depicted is not a matter 

11 of public concern. 

12 For purposes of this paragraph, the fact that the sub13 ject of the depiction consented to the creation of the 

14 depiction shall not establish that that person con15 sented to its distribution. 

16 ‘‘(2) MINORS.—Except as provided in subsection 

17 (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, or to 

18 knowingly distribute using any means or facility of 

19 interstate or foreign commerce or affecting interstate 

20 or foreign commerce, a visual depiction of a nude 

21 minor with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or de22 grade the minor, or to arouse or gratify the sexual de23 sire of any person. 

24 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates sub2 section (b), or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be 

3 fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 

4 years, or both. 

5 ‘‘(2) FORFEITURE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The court, in imposing 

7 a sentence on any person convicted of a violation 

8 involving intimate visual depictions or visual 

9 depictions of a nude minor under this section, or 

10 convicted of a conspiracy of a violation involving 

11 intimate visual depictions or visual depictions of 

12 a nude minor under this section, shall order, in 

13 addition to any other sentence imposed and irre14 spective of any provision of State law, that such 

15 person forfeit to the United States— 

16 ‘‘(i) any material distributed in viola17 tion of this section; 

18 ‘‘(ii) such person’s interest in property, 

19 real or personal, constituting or derived 

20 from any gross proceeds of such violation, 

21 or any property traceable to such property, 

22 obtained or retained directly or indirectly 

23 as a result of such violation; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any property, real or personal, 

2 used or intended to be used to commit or to 

3 facilitate the commission of such offense. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—Section 413 of the 

5 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853), with 

6 the exception of subsections (a) and (d), applies 

7 to the criminal forfeiture of property pursuant to 

8 subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(3) RESTITUTION.—Restitution shall be avail10 able as provided in section 2264 of this title. 

11 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.— 

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

13 AND OTHER LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.—This section— 

14 ‘‘(A) does not prohibit any lawfully author15 ized investigative, protective, or intelligence ac16 tivity of a law enforcement agency of the United 

17 States, a State, or a political subdivision of a 

18 State, or of an intelligence agency of the United 

19 States; 

20 ‘‘(B) shall not apply in the case of an indi21 vidual acting in good faith to report unlawful or 

22 unsolicited activity or in pursuance of a legal or 

23 professional or other lawful obligation; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) shall not apply in the case of a docu2 ment production or filing associated with a legal 

3 proceeding. 

4 ‘‘(2) SERVICE PROVIDERS.—This section shall 

5 not apply to any provider of a communications serv6 ice with regard to content provided by another infor7 mation content provider unless the provider of the 

8 communications service intentionally solicits, or 

9 knowingly and predominantly distributes, such con10 tent. 

11 ‘‘(e) THREATS.—Any person who threatens to commit 

12 an offense under subsection (b) shall be punished as pro13 vided in subsection (c). 

14 ‘‘(f) EXTRATERRITORIALITY.—There is extraterritorial 

15 Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section if the 

16 defendant or the depicted individual is a citizen or perma17 nent resident of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to limit the application of any other 

20 relevant law, including section 2252 of this title.’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

22 chapter 88 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

23 inserting after the item relating to section 1801 the fol24 lowing: 

‘‘1802. Certain activities relating to intimate visual depictions.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2264(a) of 

2 title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, 

3 or under section 1802 of this title’’ before the period. 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 78 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 412 

A BILL 

To provide that it is unlawful to knowingly dissent to the distribution, and for other purposes. reckless disregard for the individual’s lack of con- tribute private intimate visual depictions with 

MAY 17, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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