§6851 — Title 15 Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code

Summary

You can sue someone who shares an intimate image of you without your permission when the image is shared across state lines or by interstate or foreign means (for example, online) and the sharer knew, or didn’t care, that you had not agreed. A court can award the real harm you suffered or $150,000 in fixed damages, plus the case costs and reasonable lawyer fees. The court can also order the person to stop showing or sharing the image and can let you use a fake name in court. Key words used in the law: commercial pornographic content — porn that is covered by federal record rules; consent — a clear, voluntary yes without force or trickery; depicted individual — the person shown and who can be identified; disclose — to send out, publish, or make available; intimate visual depiction — a picture or video showing private sexual parts or sexual activity of an identifiable person; sexually explicit conduct — the sexual acts the law describes. Consent to make a picture does not mean consent to share it, and sharing an image with one person does not mean they agreed to further sharing. People under 18, incapacitated people, or the deceased can have a suitable guardian, family member, or court appointee sue for them (but not the defendant). You cannot sue under this rule for certain cases, including most commercial porn (unless it was made by force or fraud), good-faith disclosures to police, courts, or for medical education/treatment, reporting or investigating illegal content or unwanted conduct, matters of public concern, or disclosures meant to help the person.

Title 15, §6851

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “commercial pornographic content” means any material that is subject to the record keeping requirements under section 2257 of title 18.

(2)The term “consent” means an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary authorization made by the individual free from force, fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion.

(3)The term “depicted individual” means an individual whose body appears in whole or in part in an intimate visual depiction and who is identifiable by virtue of the person’s face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature, or from information displayed in connection with the visual depiction.

(4)The term “disclose” means to transfer, publish, distribute, or make accessible.

(5)The term “intimate visual depiction”—

(A)means a visual depiction, as that term is defined in section 2256(5) of title 18, that depicts—

(i)the uncovered genitals, pubic area, anus, or post-pubescent female nipple of an identifiable individual; or

(ii)the display or transfer of bodily sexual fluids—

(I)on to any part of the body of an identifiable individual;

(II)from the body of an identifiable individual; or

(III)an identifiable individual engaging in sexually explicit conduct and 11 So in original.

(B)includes any visual depictions described in subparagraph (A) produced while the identifiable individual was in a public place only if the individual did not—

(i)voluntarily display the content depicted; or

(ii)consent to the sexual conduct depicted.

(6)The term “sexually explicit conduct” has the meaning given the term in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 2256(2) of title 18.

(b)(1)(A)Except as provided in paragraph (4), an 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 individual, where such disclosure was made by a person who knows that, or recklessly disregards whether, the 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).

(B)In the case of an individual who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the individual or representative of the identifiable individual’s estate, another family member, or any other person appointed as suitable by the court, may assume the identifiable individual’s’ 1 rights under this section, but in no event shall the defendant be named as such representative or guardian.

(2)For purposes of an action under paragraph (1)—

(A)the fact that the individual consented to the creation of the depiction shall not establish that the person consented to its distribution; and

(B)the fact that the individual disclosed the intimate visual depiction to someone else shall not establish that the person consented to the further disclosure of the intimate visual depiction by the person alleged to have violated paragraph (1).

(3)(A)In a civil action filed under this section—

(i)an 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

(ii)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 visual depiction.

(B)In ordering relief under subparagraph (A), the court may grant injunctive relief maintaining the confidentiality of a plaintiff using a pseudonym.

(4)An identifiable individual may not bring an action for relief under this section relating to—

(A)an intimate image that is commercial pornographic content, unless that content was produced by force, fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion of the depicted individual;

(B)a disclosure made in good faith—

(i)to a law enforcement officer or agency;

(ii)as part of a legal proceeding;

(iii)as part of medical education, diagnosis, or treatment; or

(iv)in the reporting or investigation of—

(I)unlawful content; or

(II)unsolicited or unwelcome conduct;

(C)a matter of public concern or public interest; or

(D)a disclosure reasonably intended to assist the identifiable individual.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 117–103, div. W, § 4, Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 846, provided that: “(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act [div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, see Tables for classification] and the

Amendments

made by this Act shall not take effect until October 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act [Mar. 15, 2022]. “(b) Effective on Date of Enactment.—section 106, 107, 304, 606, 803, and 1306 [amending section 2265 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, section 1302a of Title 25, Indians, and section 21308 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

] and any

Amendments

made by such sections shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.”

Severability

Pub. L. 117–103, div. W, § 6, Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 846, provided that: “If any provision of this Act [div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, see Tables for classification], an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the

Amendments

made by this Act, and the application of the provisions or amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.” Definitions For definitions of terms used in this section, see section 12291 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

, as made applicable by section 2(b) of div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, which is set out as a note under section 12291 of Title 34.

§6851 Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images

Summary

Title 15, §6851

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Amendments

Enforcement

Amendments

Severability

Amendments

Enforcement

Citations & Metadata