H.R. 7569

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7569 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7569

To improve rights to relief for individuals affected by non-consensual 
activities involving intimate digital forgeries, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 6, 2024

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez (for herself, Mr. Mike Garcia of California, Ms. 
Mace, Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, Mr. Miller of Ohio, Ms. Wexton, Mr. Raskin, 
Ms. Ross, and Mr. Lieu) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To improve rights to relief for individuals affected by non-consensual 
activities involving intimate digital forgeries, 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 ``Disrupt Explicit Forged Images And 
Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024'' or as the ``DEFIANCE Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL ACTION RELATING TO DISCLOSURE OF INTIMATE IMAGES.

(a) Definitions.--Section 1309(a) of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``competent,'' after 
``conscious,'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs 
(6) and (7), respectively;
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (5);
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Digital forgery.--The term `digital forgery' means 
any intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual 
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 visual depiction, to 
appear to a reasonable person to be indistinguishable from an 
authentic visual depiction of the individual, regardless of 
whether the visual depiction indicates, through a label or some 
other form of information published with the visual depiction, 
that the visual depiction is not authentic.'';
(5) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``(5) DEPICTED'' and inserting 
``(5) IDENTIFIABLE''; and
(B) by striking ``depicted individual'' and 
inserting ``identifiable individual''; and
(6) in paragraph (6)(A), as so redesignated--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``; or'' and 
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in clause (ii)--
(i) in subclause (I), by striking 
``individual;'' and inserting ``individual; 
or''; and
(ii) by striking subclause (III); and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) an identifiable individual engaging 
in sexually explicit conduct; and''.
(b) Civil Action.--Section 1309(b) of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking paragraph (A) and inserting the 
following:
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
(5)--
``(i) an identifiable individual whose 
intimate visual depiction is disclosed, in or 
affecting interstate or foreign commerce or 
using any means or facility of interstate or 
foreign commerce, without the consent of the 
identifiable individual, where such disclosure 
was made by a person who knows or recklessly 
disregards that the identifiable individual has 
not consented to such disclosure, may bring a 
civil action against that person in an 
appropriate district court of the United States 
for relief as set forth in paragraph (3);
``(ii) an identifiable individual who is 
the subject of a digital forgery may bring a 
civil action in an appropriate district court 
of the United States for relief as set forth in 
paragraph (3) against any person that knowingly 
produced or possessed the digital forgery with 
intent to disclose it, or knowingly disclosed 
or solicited the digital forgery, if--
``(I) the identifiable individual 
did not consent to such production, 
disclosure, solicitation, or 
possession;
``(II) the person knew or 
recklessly disregarded that the 
identifiable individual did not consent 
to such production, disclosure, 
solicitation, or possession; and
``(III) such production, 
disclosure, solicitation, or possession 
is in or affects interstate or foreign 
commerce or uses any means or facility 
of interstate or foreign commerce; and
``(iii) an identifiable individual who is 
the subject of a digital forgery may bring a 
civil action in an appropriate district court 
of the United States for relief as set forth in 
paragraph (3) against any person that knowingly 
produced the digital forgery if--
``(I) the identifiable individual 
did not consent to such production;
``(II) the person knew or 
recklessly disregarded that the 
identifiable individual did not consent 
to such production; and
``(III) such production is in or 
affects interstate or foreign commerce 
or uses any means or facility of 
interstate or foreign commerce.''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) in the heading, by inserting 
``IDENTIFIABLE'' before ``INDIVIDUALS''; and
(ii) by striking ``an individual who is 
under 18 years of age, incompetent, 
incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian 
of the individual'' and inserting ``an 
identifiable individual who is under 18 years 
of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or 
deceased, the legal guardian of the 
identifiable individual'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``identifiable'' before 
``individual'';
(ii) by striking ``depiction'' and 
inserting ``intimate visual depiction or 
digital forgery''; and
(iii) by striking ``distribution'' and 
inserting ``disclosure, solicitation, or 
possession''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by inserting ``identifiable'' before 
individual;
(ii) by inserting ``or digital forgery'' 
after each place the term ``depiction'' 
appears; and
(iii) by inserting ``, solicitation, or 
possession'' after ``disclosure'';
(3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5);
(4) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Relief.--In a civil action filed under this section--
``(A) an identifiable individual may recover the 
actual damages sustained by the individual or 
liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000, and the 
cost of the action, including reasonable attorney's 
fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred; 
and
``(B) the court may, in addition to any other 
relief available at law, order equitable relief, 
including a temporary restraining order, a preliminary 
injunction, or a permanent injunction ordering the 
defendant to cease display or disclosure of the 
intimate visual depiction or digital forgery.
``(4) Preservation of privacy.--In a civil action filed 
under this section, the court may issue an order to protect the 
privacy of a plaintiff, including by--
``(A) permitting the plaintiff to use a pseudonym;
``(B) requiring the parties to redact the personal 
identifying information of the plaintiff from any 
public filing, or to file such documents under seal; 
and
``(C) issuing a protective order for purposes of 
discovery, which may include an order indicating that 
any intimate visual depiction or digital forgery shall 
remain in the care, custody, and control of the 
court.'';
(5) in paragraph (5)(A), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``image'' and inserting ``visual 
depiction or digital forgery''; and
(B) by striking ``depicted'' and inserting 
``identifiable''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Statute of limitations.--Any action commenced under 
this section shall be barred unless the complaint is filed not 
later than 10 years from the later of--
``(A) the date on which the identifiable individual 
reasonably discovers the violation that forms the basis 
for the claim; or
``(B) the date on which the identifiable individual 
reaches 18 years of age.
``(7) Duplicative recovery barred.--No relief may be 
ordered under paragraph (3) against a person who is subject to 
a judgment under section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, 
for the same conduct involving the same identifiable individual 
and the same intimate visual depiction or digital forgery.''.
(c) Continued Applicability of Federal, State, and Tribal Law.--
(1) In general.--This Act shall not be construed to impair, 
supersede, or limit a provision of Federal, State, or Tribal 
law.
(2) No preemption.--Nothing in this Act shall prohibit a 
State or Tribal government from adopting and enforcing a 
provision of law governing nonconsensual activity involving a 
digital forgery, as defined in section 1309(a) of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 6851(a)), as 
amended by this Act, that is at least as protective of the 
rights of a victim as this Act.

SEC. 3. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the 
application of such a provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions 
of and amendments made by this Act, and the application of the 
provision or amendment held to be unconstitutional to any other person 
or circumstance, shall not be affected thereby.
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