S. 4695

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4695 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4695

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

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 8, 2026

Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) 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 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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