[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8387 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8387
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the disclosure of
intimate images, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 14, 2024
Ms. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the disclosure of
intimate images, and for other purposes.
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 ``Victimizer Accountability for
Nonconsensual Images and Spiteful Humiliation Act'' or the ``VANISH
Act''.
SEC. 2. VISUAL DEPICTION PRIVACY.
(a) In General.--Chapter 88 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1802. Prohibition of disclosure of intimate images
``(a) Offense.--Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever--
``(1) recklessly discloses, in or affecting interstate or
foreign commerce or using any means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, an intimate
visual depiction of an individual, without the consent of the
individual;
``(2) knowingly threatens to commit an offense described in
paragraph (1); or
``(3) conspires to commit an offense described in paragraph
(1),
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or
both.
``(b) Consent.--For purposes of subsection (a)--
``(1) the fact that the depicted individual consented to
the creation of the intimate visual depiction shall not
establish that the person consented to its disclosure;
``(2) the fact that the depicted individual is a public
figure shall not establish that the depicted individual
consented to the disclosure of the intimate visual depiction;
and
``(3) the fact that the depicted individual disclosed the
intimate visual depiction to someone else shall not establish
that the depicted individual consented to the further
disclosure of the intimate visual depiction by the person
alleged to have violated subsection (a).
``(c) Exceptions.--
``(1) In general.--This section shall not apply with
respect to--
``(A) an intimate visual depiction that is
commercial pornographic content, unless that content
was produced by force, fraud, misrepresentation, or
coercion of the depicted individual;
``(B) a disclosure made in good faith--
``(i) to a law enforcement officer or
agency;
``(ii) as part of a legal proceeding;
``(iii) as part of medical education,
diagnosis, or treatment; or
``(iv) in the reporting or investigation
of--
``(I) unlawful content; or
``(II) unsolicited or unwelcome
conduct;
``(C) matter of public concern or public interest;
or
``(D) a disclosure reasonably intended to assist
the identifiable individual.
``(2) Service providers.--This section shall not apply to
any provider of a communications service with regard to content
provided by another information content provider unless the
provider of the communications service intentionally solicits,
or knowingly and predominantly distributes, content that the
provider of the communications service knows is in violation of
this section.
``(3) Clarification.--The fact that an intimate visual
depiction depicts a public figure does not constitute an
exception under paragraph (1)(C).
``(d) Extraterritoriality.--There is extraterritorial Federal
jurisdiction over an offense under this section if the alleged offender
or the depicted individual is a national of the United States (as such
term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1101)).
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `consent' means an affirmative, conscious,
competent, and voluntary authorization made by the individual
free from force, fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion.
``(2) The term `depicted individual' means an individual
whose body appears in whole or in part in an intimate visual
depiction and who is identifiable by virtue of the person's
face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as
a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature, or from
information displayed in connection with the visual depiction.
``(3) The term `disclose' means to transfer, publish,
distribute, or make accessible.
``(4) The term `intimate visual depiction'--
``(A) means a visual depiction, as that term is
defined in section 2256(5), that depicts--
``(i) the uncovered genitals, pubic area,
anus, or female nipple of an identifiable
individual; or
``(ii) the display or transfer of bodily
sexual fluids--
``(I) on to any part of the body of
an identifiable individual; or
``(II) from the body of an
identifiable individual; or
``(iii) an identifiable individual engaging
in sexually explicit conduct; and
``(B) includes any visual depictions described in
subparagraph (A) produced while the identifiable
individual was in a public place only if the individual
did not--
``(i) voluntarily display the content
depicted; or
``(ii) consent to the sexual conduct
depicted.
``(5) The term `sexually explicit conduct' has the meaning
given the term in subparagraph (A) of section 2256(2).
``(6) The term `communications service' means--
``(A) a service provided by a person that is a
common carrier, as that term is defined in section 3 of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), insofar
as the person is acting as a common carrier;
``(B) an electronic communication service, as that
term is defined in section 2510;
``(C) an information service, as that term is
defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 153); and
``(D) an interactive computer service, as that term
is defined in section 230(f) of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).
``(7) The term `information content provider' has the
meaning given such term i section 230(f) fo the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 88 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``1802. Prohibition of disclosure of intimate images.''.
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