[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8457 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8457
To prevent the distribution of intimate visual depictions without
consent.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2024
Mrs. Luna introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent the distribution of intimate visual depictions without
consent.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Rampant
Online Technological Exploitation and Criminal Trafficking Act of
2024'' or the ``PROTECT Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Severability clause.
TITLE I--REGULATING THE UPLOADING OF PORNOGRAPHIC IMAGES TO ONLINE
PLATFORMS
Sec. 101. Verification obligations of covered platform operators.
Sec. 102. Removal of images distributed without consent.
Sec. 103. Obligations of users.
TITLE II--ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 201. Civil enforcement.
Sec. 202. Criminal prohibition on nonconsensual distribution of
intimate visual depictions.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In the United States, reports of child sexual abuse
material (referred to in this section as ``CSAM'') have grown
exponentially in recent years, from 3,000 reports in 1998 to
more than 1,000,000 in 2014 and 18,400,000 in 2018. The New
York Times called it an ``almost unfathomable'' increase in
criminal behavior.
(2) The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(referred to in this section as ``NCMEC''), which is based in
the United States, recorded more than 29,300,000 reports of
suspected CSAM to its CyberTipline in 2021, the highest number
of reports ever received in a single year and a 35 percent
increase from 2020. Those reports included 85,000,000 images,
videos, and other files of suspected CSAM and incident-related
content.
(3) Recent trends reported by NCMEC include increasingly
graphic and violent sexual abuse images, and videos of infants
and young children.
(4) The Daily, a podcast hosted by the New York Times,
reported in 2019 that CSAM had so overwhelmed law enforcement
agencies in the United States that the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, for example, had prioritized investigating
material depicting infants and toddlers, not older children.
(5) The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge in the
online distribution of CSAM, which was remarkably high even
before the pandemic. During the pandemic, NCMEC reported a 106-
percent increase in the sharing of CSAM globally. The increased
number of offenders exchanging CSAM during lockdowns has
continued to stimulate demand for CSAM beyond the lockdowns.
(6) Project Arachnid is a web platform administered by the
Canadian Centre for Child Protection (referred to in this
section as ``C3P'') that is designed to detect known images of
CSAM and issue removal notices to electronic service providers
when possible. C3P has reported, ``It is a common misconception
that CSAM and harmful-abusive content are relegated solely to
the dark web.''. In fact, 97 percent of the illegal media
detected by Project Arachnid hides in plain sight on the clear
web on image or file hosting services, forums, content delivery
networks, and both mainstream adult pornography sites, such as
Pornhub, XVideos, OnlyFans, and YouPorn, and fringe adult
pornography sites.
(7) In 2021, NCMEC reported that a majority of CSAM
reports, more than 29,157,083 out of 29,397,681, came from
electronic service providers.
(8) An alarming and increasing number of adults are being
depicted in online pornography without their knowledge or
consent. These individuals are often victims of sexual abuse,
sex trafficking, rape, sexual exploitation, sextortion, and
forms of image-based sexual abuse such as nonconsensual
distribution of sexually explicit material.
(9) Most pornography websites do not effectively verify the
age of the users who upload content to their platforms. Nor do
these websites make an effort to effectively verify the age,
consent, or identity of all individuals who are depicted in the
pornographic content.
(10) Pornography websites attract hundreds of millions of
visitors daily. The 2 most-visited pornography websites in
2023, for example, reported attracting more than 693,500,000
and 629,500,000 monthly users, respectively, each exceeding the
traffic of Netflix, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn.
(11) Pornography websites profit from the content uploaded
to their platforms, including content that depicts or involves
rape, child exploitation and abuse, and sex trafficking. In
2019, 6 high-level individuals employed by an online
pornographic distributor were convicted of sex trafficking.
Over an 11-year period, that platform generated more than
$17,000,000 in revenue.
(12) Not only are high-ranking officers of pornography
websites aware of the proliferation of CSAM material on their
platforms, but they appear to knowingly decline to investigate
reports of nonconsensual or underage sexually explicit
materials on the platforms. A 2021 lawsuit revealed that
Pornhub's parent company Aylo, at the time known as MindGeed
USA Incorporated, had a policy to only review videos flagged
for rape or sexual abuse if the video received at least 16
unique reports. If a video had 15 or fewer reports, Pornhub
refused to investigate. Internal emails stated that as of May
27, 2020, Pornhub had a backlog of 706,425 videos of possible
rape or child sexual abuse with 15 or fewer reports. At the
time of the lawsuit, only 1 out of Pornhub's 1,400 total
employees was tasked with reviewing videos reported for
violence or CSAM full-time. Pornhub's chief executive officer
called these policies ``good and reasonable''.
(13) The ongoing exploitation of underage or nonconsenting
individuals by highly-visited pornography websites is evidenced
by a recent series of successful lawsuits. One case, involving
22 victims of sex trafficking and fraud, concluded in a nearly
$13,000,000 verdict against a pornography content producer who
coerced women and children into producing sexual content.
Another 34 women, some of whom are victims of child sex
trafficking, filed a lawsuit against a pornographic website for
failing to take proper precautions to verify the content
uploaded to its platform and monetizing the illegal content.
(14) The internet has revolutionized the pornography
industry, making pornographic content incomparably more
available, accessible, affordable, and anonymous than at any
previous time in the history of the United States. Today,
substantial majorities of teenagers have viewed pornography. A
United States population-based probability study found that 84
percent of males and 57 percent of females between the ages of
14 and 18 have viewed pornography, belying the industry's faux
status as so-called ``adult entertainment''. Moreover,
pornography has contributed to the normalization of sexual
violence among the youth of the United States. Numerous studies
have demonstrated that viewing pornography harms youth, as it
contributes to sexually violent attitudes and conduct towards
children and adults and creates unrealistic expectations for
intimate relationships. Additionally, research has demonstrated
that the demand for online pornography has fueled an increase
in purchasing sex from prostituted or sex trafficked
individuals.
(15) The online pornography industry has remained unchecked
and generally immune from regulations. Online creators and
distributors of pornographic content should be held to
standards that require informed and thorough consent as well as
age-verification. Currently, no substantive laws govern consent
in pornography, which has permitted rampant abuses to occur.
(16) Companies should not profit from the sexual
exploitation of children and adults. Requiring pornographic
websites to verify the age, consent, and identity of
individuals appearing in pornographic content on their
platforms would substantially curb the rampant exploitation of
all children and adults online.
(17) The harm to victims of CSAM and image-based sexual
abuse is deep and enduring. Every time an image or video of
their exploitation is shared, their abuse is repeated and
amplified.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(a) In General.--In this Act:
(1) Coerced consent.--The term ``coerced consent'' means
purported consent obtained from a person--
(A) through fraud, duress, misrepresentation, undue
influence, or nondisclosure;
(B) who lacks capacity; or
(C) though exploiting or leveraging the person's--
(i) immigration status;
(ii) pregnancy;
(iii) disability;
(iv) addiction;
(v) juvenile status; or
(vi) economic circumstances.
(2) Consent.--The term ``consent''--
(A) means an agreement that is informed and
thorough; and
(B) does not include coerced consent.
(3) Covered platform.--
(A) In general.--The term ``covered platform''
means an interactive computer service that hosts or
makes available to the general public pornographic
images.
(B) Availability to public.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the availability of pornographic
images to a group of subscribers shall be considered
availability to the general public if any member of the
general public (subject to reasonable limitations) can
obtain a subscription.
(4) Covered platform operator.--The term ``covered platform
operator'' means a provider of a covered platform.
(5) Interactive computer service.--The term ``interactive
computer service'' has the meaning given that term in section
230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).
(6) Intimate visual depiction.--The term ``intimate visual
depiction'' means any visual depiction--
(A) of an individual who is reasonably identifiable
from the visual depiction itself or information
displayed in connection with the visual depiction,
including through--
(i) facial recognition;
(ii) an identifying marking on the
individual, including a birthmark or piercing;
(iii) an identifying feature of the
background of the visual depiction;
(iv) voice matching; or
(v) written confirmation from an individual
who is responsible, in whole or in part, for
the creation or development of the visual
depiction; and
(B) in which--
(i) the individual depicted is engaging in
sexually explicit conduct; or
(ii) the naked genitals, anus, pubic area,
or post-pubescent female nipple of the
individual depicted are visible.
(7) Pornographic image.--The term ``pornographic image''
means--
(A) any visual depiction of actual or feigned
sexually explicit conduct; or
(B) any intimate visual depiction.
(8) User.--The term ``user''--
(A) means an individual who is an information
content provider (as defined in section 230(f) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f))); and
(B) with respect to a covered platform, means an
individual described in subparagraph (A) who is
responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or
development of pornographic images hosted or made
available by the covered platform.
(b) Terms Defined in Section 2256 of Title 18, United States
Code.--For purposes of subsection (a)--
(1) the term ``computer'' has the meaning given that term
in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code; and
(2) the term ``sexually explicit conduct'' has the meaning
given that term in section 2256(2)(A) of title 18, United
States Code; and
(3) the term ``visual depiction'' means a photograph, film,
video, or modified photograph, film, or video, whether made or
produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE.
If any provision of this Act or 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 this Act and amendments made by this Act, and the application of
such provisions and amendments to any other person or circumstance,
shall not be affected thereby.
TITLE I--REGULATING THE UPLOADING OF PORNOGRAPHIC IMAGES TO ONLINE
PLATFORMS
SEC. 101. VERIFICATION OBLIGATIONS OF COVERED PLATFORM OPERATORS.
(a) Verification of Users.--
(1) In general.--A covered platform operator may not upload
or allow a user to upload a pornographic image to the covered
platform unless the operator has verified, in accordance with
paragraph (2)--
(A) the identity of the user; and
(B) that the user is not less than 18 years old.
(2) Means of compliance.--In carrying out paragraph (1), a
covered platform operator shall verify the identity and age of
a user by--
(A) requiring use of an adult access code or adult
personal identification number;
(B) accepting a digital certificate that verifies
age; or
(C) using any other reasonable measure of age
verification that the Attorney General has determined
to be feasible with available technology.
(3) Insufficient user confirmation.--Merely requiring a
user to confirm that the user is not less than 18 years of age,
without independent means of verification, shall not satisfy
the requirement under paragraph (1).
(b) Verification of Participants.--
(1) In general.--A covered platform operator may not upload
or allow a user to upload a pornographic image to the covered
platform unless the operator has verified, in accordance with
paragraph (2), that each individual appearing in the
pornographic image--
(A) was not less than 18 years of age when the
pornographic image was created;
(B) has provided explicit written evidence of
consent for each sex act in which the individual
engaged during the creation of the pornographic image;
and
(C) has provided explicit written consent for the
distribution of the specific pornographic image.
(2) Separate consent for sex act and for distribution of
image.--
(A) Consent for sex act.--Consent described in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) does not imply or
constitute evidence of consent described in
subparagraph (C) of that paragraph.
(B) Consent for distribution of image.--Consent
described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) does not
imply or constitute evidence of consent described in
subparagraph (B) of that paragraph.
(3) Means of compliance.--In carrying out paragraph (1), a
covered platform operator shall obtain, either from the user
seeking to upload the pornographic image or through other
means--
(A) a consent form created or approved by the
Attorney General under paragraph (4) from each
individual appearing in the pornographic image that
includes--
(i) the name, date of birth, and signature
of the individual;
(ii) a statement that the individual is not
less than 18 years of age, unless no reasonable
person could conclude that the individual is
less than 30 years of age;
(iii) a statement that the consent is for
distribution of the specific pornographic
image;
(iv) the geographic area and medium,
meaning online, print, or other distribution
method, for which the individual provides
consent to distribution of the pornographic
image;
(v) the duration of time for which the
individual provides consent to distribution of
the pornographic image;
(vi) a list of the specific sex acts that
the person agrees to engage in for the
pornogra