The Innocence Act is a proposed bill designed to enhance protections against the distribution of obscene or harmful materials to juveniles and the unauthorized use of individuals' likenesses for creating sexual images. It introduces new legal provisions that require organizations to verify the age of individuals accessing such materials, ensuring they are at least eighteen years old through reasonable age verification methods. The bill establishes civil actions for victims of nonconsensual dissemination of private or fabricated sexual images, presuming harm for victims, and mandates that organizations reverify user ages every two years while implementing geolocation checks for compliance.

Additionally, the bill criminalizes the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images and fabricated sexual images, categorizing these offenses as felonies with varying degrees of severity based on prior convictions. It allows victims to pursue civil action against offenders and includes penalties for organizations and individuals who fail to comply with age verification requirements, classifying such violations as misdemeanors of the first degree. The bill also repeals existing sections of the Revised Code related to similar offenses, indicating a comprehensive overhaul of the legal framework surrounding these issues, with a strong emphasis on protecting individuals from exploitation and ensuring consent in the dissemination of personal images.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 2307.66, 2917.211, 2981.02