CONSENT Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9155 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9155

 To establish a private right of action against a person who transmits
                unsolicited intimate visual depictions.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2026

  Ms. McClellan (for herself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To establish a private right of action against a person who transmits
                unsolicited intimate visual depictions.

    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 INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Consent.--The term ``consent'' means an affirmative,
        conscious, and voluntary authorization made by an individual
        free from force, fraud, duress, misrepresentation, or coercion.
            (2) Intimate digital forgery.--The term ``intimate digital
        forgery'' means any intimate visual depiction of an
        identifiable individual that--
                    (A) falsely represents, in whole or in part--
                            (i) the identifiable individual; or
                            (ii) the conduct or content that makes the
                        intimate visual depiction intimate;
                    (B) is created through the use of software, machine
                learning, artificial intelligence, or any other
                computer-generated or technological means, including by
                adapting, modifying, manipulating, or altering an
                authentic intimate visual depiction; and
                    (C) is indistinguishable from an authentic intimate
                visual depiction of the identifiable individual when
                viewed as a whole by a reasonable person.
            (3) Intimate visual depiction.--The term ``intimate visual
        depiction''--
                    (A) has the meaning given the term in section 1309
                of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C.
                6851); and
                    (B) includes an intimate digital forgery.
            (4) Transmit.--The term ``transmit'', with respect to a
        depiction--
                    (A) means to send the depiction directly to 1 or
                more individuals; and
                    (B) does not include publishing the depiction.
    (b) Civil Action.--
            (1) Right of action.--
                    (A) Prohibited transmissions.--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 transmits to an individual
                (referred to in this subparagraph as the ``recipient'')
                an intimate visual depiction, 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 intimate 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 an intimate visual depiction 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 or a pseudonym in all
                        filings with the court.
                            (ii) Requirement.--If a plaintiff elects to
                        proceed using the plaintiff's initials or a
                        pseudonym under clause (i), the court and each
                        other party to the action shall use the
                        plaintiff's initials or a pseudonym 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 a person who transmits
                an intimate visual depiction for a good faith medical,
                educational, or law enforcement purpose.
            (2) Relief.--In a civil action brought under paragraph (1),
        an individual may obtain--
                    (A) either--
                            (i) statutory damages of not more than
                        $1,000; 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 transmitting intimate visual
                depictions 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) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed or applied so as to abridge the exercise of rights guaranteed
under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
    (d) 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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