Senate File 324 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 324
BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1053)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act creating a civil remedy for the disclosure of private,
2 sexually explicit images without consent of the depicted
3 individual.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 659A.1 Short title.
2 This chapter may be cited as the “Uniform Civil Remedies for
3 Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act”.
4 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 659A.2 Definitions.
5 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
6 requires:
7 1. “Consent” means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary
8 authorization by an individual with legal capacity to give
9 authorization.
10 2. “Depicted individual” means an individual whose body is
11 shown in whole or in part in an intimate image.
12 3. “Disclosure” means transfer, publication, or distribution
13 to another person. “Disclose” has a corresponding meaning.
14 4. “Identifiable” means recognizable by a person other than
15 the depicted individual from any of the following:
16 a. An intimate image itself.
17 b. An intimate image and identifying characteristic
18 displayed in connection with the intimate image.
19 5. “Identifying characteristic” means information that may
20 be used to identify a depicted individual.
21 6. “Individual” means a human being.
22 7. “Intimate image” means a photograph, film, video
23 recording, or other similar medium that shows any of the
24 following:
25 a. The uncovered genitals, pubic area, anus, or female
26 post-pubescent nipple of a depicted individual.
27 b. A depicted individual engaging in or being subjected to
28 sexual conduct.
29 8. “Person” means an individual, estate, business
30 or nonprofit entity, public corporation, government or
31 governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other
32 legal entity.
33 9. “Sexual conduct” includes all of the following:
34 a. Masturbation.
35 b. Genital, anal, or oral sex.
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1 c. Sexual penetration of, or with, an object.
2 d. Bestiality.
3 e. The transfer of semen onto a depicted individual.
4 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 659A.3 Civil action.
5 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
6 requires:
7 a. “Harm” includes physical harm, economic harm, and
8 emotional distress whether or not accompanied by physical or
9 economic harm.
10 b. “Private” means any of the following:
11 (1) Created or obtained under circumstances in which a
12 depicted individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
13 (2) Made accessible through theft, bribery, extortion,
14 fraud, false pretenses, voyeurism, or exceeding authorized
15 access to an account, message, file, device, resource, or
16 property.
17 2. Except as otherwise provided in section 659A.4, a
18 depicted individual who is identifiable and who suffers harm
19 from a person’s intentional disclosure or threatened disclosure
20 of an intimate image that was private without the depicted
21 individual’s consent has a cause of action against the person
22 if the person knew, or acted with reckless disregard regarding,
23 all of the following:
24 a. The depicted individual did not consent to the
25 disclosure.
26 b. The intimate image was private.
27 c. The depicted individual was identifiable.
28 3. The following conduct by a depicted individual does
29 not establish by itself that the individual consented to the
30 disclosure of the intimate image which is the subject of an
31 action under this chapter or that the individual lacked a
32 reasonable expectation of privacy:
33 a. Consent to creation of the image.
34 b. Previous consensual disclosure of the image.
35 4. A depicted individual who does not consent to the
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1 sexual conduct or uncovering of the part of the body depicted
2 in an intimate image of the individual retains a reasonable
3 expectation of privacy even if the image was created when the
4 individual was in a public place.
5 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 659A.4 Exceptions to liability.
6 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
7 requires:
8 a. “Child” means an unemancipated individual who is less
9 than eighteen years of age.
10 b. “Parent” means an individual recognized as a parent under
11 law of this state other than this chapter.
12 2. A person is not liable under this chapter if the person
13 proves that disclosure of, or a threat to disclose, an intimate
14 image was any of the following:
15 a. Made in good faith in any of the following circumstances:
16 (1) Law enforcement.
17 (2) A legal proceeding.
18 (3) Medical education or treatment.
19 b. Made in good faith in the reporting or investigation of
20 any of the following:
21 (1) Unlawful conduct.
22 (2) Unsolicited and unwelcome conduct.
23 c. Related to a matter of public concern or public interest.
24 d. Reasonably intended to assist the depicted individual.
25 3. Subject to subsection 4, a defendant who is a person
26 responsible for the care of a child as defined in section
27 232.68 is not liable under this chapter for a disclosure or
28 threatened disclosure of an intimate image, as defined in
29 section 659A.2, subsection 7, paragraph “a”, of the child.
30 4. If a defendant asserts an exception to liability under
31 subsection 3, the exception does not apply if the plaintiff
32 proves the disclosure was any of the following:
33 a. Prohibited by law other than this chapter.
34 b. Made for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual
35 gratification, humiliation, degradation, or monetary or
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1 commercial gain.
2 5. Disclosure of, or a threat to disclose, an intimate image
3 is not a matter of public concern or public interest solely
4 because the depicted individual is a public figure.
5 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 659A.5 Plaintiff’s privacy.
6 In an action under this chapter all of the following are
7 true:
8 1. Identifying characteristics of the plaintiff shall be
9 redacted from all pleadings and documents filed in the action
10 under rule of civil procedure 1.422, without court order.
11 2. A plaintiff to whom subsection 1 applies shall file with
12 the court and serve on the defendant a protected information
13 form, pursuant to rule of electronic procedure 16.606, that
14 includes the excluded or redacted plaintiff’s name and other
15 identifying characteristics.
16 3. The court may make further orders as necessary to protect
17 the identity and privacy of a plaintiff.
18 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 659A.6 Remedies.
19 1. In an action under this chapter, a prevailing plaintiff
20 may recover all of the following:
21 a. The greater of the following:
22 (1) Economic and noneconomic damages proximately caused by
23 the defendant’s disclosure or threatened disclosure, including
24 damages for emotional distress whether or not accompanied by
25 other damages.
26 (2) Statutory damages not to exceed ten thousand dollars
27 against each defendant found liable under this chapter for all
28 disclosures and threatened disclosures by the defendant of
29 which the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known when
30 filing the action or which became known during the pendency of
31 the action. In determining the amount of statutory damages
32 under this subparagraph, consideration shall be given to all
33 of the following:
34 (a) The age of the parties at the time of the disclosure or
35 threatened disclosure.
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1 (b) The number of disclosures or threatened disclosures
2 made by the defendant.
3 (c) The breadth of distribution of the image by the
4 defendant.
5 (d) Other exacerbating or mitigating factors.
6 b. An amount equal to any monetary gain made by the
7 defendant from disclosure of the intimate image.
8 c. Punitive damages as allowed under chapter 668A.
9 2. In an action under this chapter, the court may award a
10 prevailing plaintiff all of the following:
11 a. Reasonable attorney fees and costs.
12 b. Additional relief, including injunctive relief.
13 3. This chapter does not affect a right or remedy available
14 under law of this state other than this chapter.
15 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 659A.7 Statute of limitations.
16 1. An action under section 659A.3, subsection 2, for:
17 a. An unauthorized disclosure shall not be brought later
18 than four years from the date the disclosure was discovered or
19 should have been discovered with the exercise of reasonable
20 diligence.
21 b. A threat to disclose shall not be brought later than four
22 years from the date of the threat to disclose.
23 2. This section is subject to section 614.8.
24 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 659A.8 Construction.
25 This chapter shall be construed to be consistent with the
26 Communications Decency Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. §230.
27 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 659A.9 Uniformity of application and
28 construction.
29 In applying and construing this chapter, consideration shall
30 be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with
31 respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
32 Sec. 10. Section 614.8, subsection 2, Code 2021, is amended
33 to read as follows:
34 2. Except as provided in section 614.1, subsection 9, the
35 times limited for actions in this chapter, or chapter 216,
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1 659A, 669, or 670, except those brought for penalties and
2 forfeitures, are extended in favor of minors, so that they
3 shall have one year from and after attainment of majority
4 within which to file a complaint pursuant to chapter 216, to
5 make a claim pursuant to chapter 669, or to otherwise commence
6 an action.
7 EXPLANATION
8 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
9 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
10 This bill enacts the uniform civil remedies for unauthorized
11 disclosure of intimate images Act, which creates a cause of
12 action for the disclosure of private, sexually explicit images
13 without consent.
14 The bill applies only to sensitive content created or
15 obtained under circumstances in which the individual had a
16 reasonable expectation of privacy. The bill includes limited
17 exceptions for certain disclosures, including those made in
18 the course of law enforcement, legal proceedings or education,
19 medical treatment, or investigations of misconduct. The bill
20 also includes an exception for disclosures relating to matters
21 of public concern or public interest and disclosures reasonably
22 intended to assist the victim.
23 The bill notes federal statutory limitations on the
24 liability of providers and users of interactive computer
25 services consistent with the Communications Decency Act of
26 1996, 47 U.S.C. §230.
27 The bill does not impose liability on a discloser who lacks
28 the requisite awareness of any of these elements: (1) that the
29 image was created or obtained under circumstances in which the
30 individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy or that the
31 image was obtained through theft, bribery, false pretenses,
32 voyeurism, or other wrongful acts, (2) that the individual
33 shown in the image did not consent to the disclosure, or (3)
34 that the individual shown was identifiable.
35 The bill protects a plaintiff’s privacy by requiring the
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1 court to redact identifying characteristics of the plaintiff
2 from the pleadings or documents filed in the action. The
3 plaintiff is required to file and serve the defendant with
4 a protected information form that includes the redacted or
5 excluded information.
6 The bill provides civil remedies that the plaintiff may
7 recover including the greater of either economic or noneconomic
8 damages or statutory damages not to exceed $10,000, an amount
9 equal to any monetary gain made by the defendant from the
10 disclosure of the intimate image, and punitive damages. The
11 bill also provides that a prevailing plaintiff may be awarded
12 reasonable attorney fees and costs and additional relief.
13 The bill provides for a statute of limitations in which
14 a plaintiff must bring a cause of action under the new Code
15 chapter or otherwise be barred from doing so, but tolls the
16 statute of limitations for minors.
17 The bill only provides a civil remedy, but under current Code
18 section 709.21 similar conduct is an aggravated misdemeanor.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 659A.4