119-hr5090

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5090 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5090

 To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to expand prohibitions 
 against the wrongful broadcast, distribution, or publication of 
 intimate visual images, including digital forgeries, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 2, 2025

 Ms. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to expand prohibitions 
 against the wrongful broadcast, distribution, or publication of 
 intimate visual images, including digital forgeries, and for other 
 purposes.

 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 ``Halting Online Nonconsensual 
Offenses in the Ranks Act'' or the ``HONOR Act''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO OFFENSE OF WRONGFUL BROADCAST OR DISTRIBUTION 
 OF INTIMATE VISUAL IMAGES UNDER THE UNIFORM CODE OF 
 MILITARY JUSTICE.

 

Section 917a of title 10, united states code (article 117a of the 
uniform code of military justice) is amended to read as follows:
``

Sec. 917a. Art. 117a. Wrongful broadcast, distribution, or 
 publication of intimate visual images
 ``

    (a) Prohibition.--Any person subject to this chapter--
 ``

    (1) who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a 
 communication service to publish an authentic intimate visual 
 depiction of an identifiable individual who is not a minor if--
 ``
        (A) the intimate visual depiction was obtained or 
 created under circumstances in which the person knew or 
 reasonably should have known the identifiable 
 individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy;
 ``
        (B) the authentic intimate visual depiction was 
 broadcast, distributed, or published without the 
 consent of the identifiable individual;
 ``
            (C) what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed 
 by the identifiable individual in a public or 
 commercial setting;
 ``
            (D) what is depicted is not a matter of public 
 concern; and
 ``
        (E) the broadcast, distribution, or publication 
 of the intimate visual depiction--
 ``
            (i) is intended to cause harm; or
 ``
            (ii) causes harm, including 
 psychological, financial, or reputational harm, 
 to the identifiable individual;
 ``

    (2) who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a 
 communication service to publish an authentic intimate visual 
 depiction of an identifiable individual who is a minor with 
 intent to--
 ``
        (A) abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the 
 minor; or
 ``
        (B) arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any 
 person;
 ``

    (3) who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a 
 communication service to publish a digital forgery of an 
 identifiable individual who is not a minor if--
 ``
        (A) the digital forgery was broadcast, 
 distributed, or published without the consent of the 
 identifiable individual;
 ``
        (B) what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed 
 by the identifiable individual in a public or 
 commercial setting;
 ``
            (C) what is depicted is not a matter of public 
 concern; and
 ``
            (D) the broadcast, distribution, or publication 
 of the digital forgery--
 ``
            (i) is intended to cause harm; or
 ``
            (ii) causes harm, including 
 psychological, financial, or reputational harm, 
 to the identifiable individual; or
 ``

    (4) who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a 
 communication service to publish a digital forgery of an 
 identifiable individual who is a minor with intent to--
 ``
        (A) abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the 
 minor; or
 ``
        (B) arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any 
 person,
 is guilty of wrongful distribution of intimate visual images or 
 visual images of sexually explicit conduct and shall be 
 punished as a court-martial may direct.
 ``

    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection

    (a) shall not apply to--
 ``

    (1) a lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or 
 intelligence activity of--
 ``
        (A) a law enforcement agency of the United 
 States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State; 
 or
 ``
        (B) an intelligence agency of the United States;
 ``

    (2) a disclosure made reasonably and in good faith--
 ``
        (A) to a law enforcement officer or agency;
 ``
        (B) as part of a document production or filing 
 associated with a legal proceeding;
 ``
            (C) as part of medical education, diagnosis, or 
 treatment or for a legitimate medical, scientific, or 
 educational purpose;
 ``
            (D) in the reporting of unlawful content or 
 unsolicited or unwelcome conduct or in pursuance of a 
 legal, professional, or other lawful obligation; or
 ``
        (E) to seek support or help with respect to the 
 receipt of an unsolicited intimate visual depiction;
 ``

    (3) a disclosure reasonably intended to assist the 
 identifiable individual; or
 ``

    (4) a person who possesses or publishes an intimate 
 visual depiction of himself or herself engaged in nudity or 
 sexually explicit conduct.
 ``
            (c) Consent.--For the purposes of subsection

    (a) --
 ``

    (1) the fact that the depicted individual consented to 
 the creation of the intimate visual depiction shall not 
 establish that the person consented to its disclosure; and
 ``

    (2) the fact that the depicted individual disclosed the 
 intimate visual depiction to another person shall not establish 
 that the depicted individual consented to the further 
 disclosure of the intimate visual depiction.
 ``
            (d) === 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) Digital forgery.--The term `digital forgery' means 
 any intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual 
 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 visual depiction, that, 
 when viewed as a whole by a reasonable person, is 
 indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction of the 
 individual.
 ``

    (3) Identifiable individual.--The term `identifiable 
 individual' means an individual--
 ``
        (A) who appears in whole or in part in an 
 intimate visual depiction; and
 ``
        (B) whose face, likeness, or other distinguishing 
 characteristic (including a unique birthmark or other 
 recognizable feature) is displayed in connection with 
 such intimate visual depiction.
 ``

    (4) Visual depiction.--The term `visual depiction' 
 includes undeveloped film and videotape, data stored on 
 computer disk or by electronic means which is capable of 
 conversion into a visual image, and data which is capable of 
 conversion into a visual image that has been transmitted by any 
 means, whether or not stored in a permanent format.
 ``

    (5) Intimate visual depiction.--The term `intimate visual 
 depiction'--
 ``
        (A) means a visual depiction that depicts--
 ``
            (i) the uncovered genitals, pubic area, 
 anus, or 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
 ``
        (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) Sexually explicit conduct.--The term `sexually 
 explicit conduct' means actual or simulated--
 ``
        (A) sexual intercourse, including genital-
 genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, 
 whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
 ``
        (B) bestiality;
 ``
            (C) masturbation;
 ``
            (D) sadistic or masochistic abuse; or
 ``
        (E) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or 
 pubic area of any person.
 ``

    (7) Minor.--The term `minor' means any individual under 
 the age of 18 years.
 ``

    (8) Broadcast.--The term `broadcast' means to 
 electronically transmit a visual image with the intent that it 
 be viewed by a person or persons.
 ``

    (9) Distribute.--The term `distribute' means to deliver 
 to the actual or constructive possession of another person, 
 including transmission by mail or electronic means.
 ``

    (10) Communications service.--The term `communications 
 service' means--
 ``
        (A) a service provided by a person that is a 
 common carrier;
 ``
        (B) an electronic communication service;
 ``
            (C) an information service; or
 ``
            (D) an interactive computer service.
 ``

    (11) Common carrier.--The term `common carrier' means any 
 person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or 
 foreign communication by wire or radio or interstate or foreign 
 radio transmission of energy, but a person engaged in radio 
 broadcasting shall not, insofar as such person is so engaged, 
 be deemed a common carrier.
 ``

    (12) Electronic communication service.--The term 
 `electronic communication service' means any service which 
 provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire 
 or electronic communications.
 ``

    (13) Information service.--The term `information service' 
 means the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, 
 storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or 
 making available information via telecommunications, and 
 includes electronic publishing, but does not include any use of 
 any such capability for the management, control, or operation 
 of a telecommunications system or the management of a 
 telecommunications service.
 ``

    (14) Interactive computer service.--The term `interactive 
 computer service' means any information service, system, or 
 access software provider that provides or enables computer 
 access by multiple users to a computer server, including 
 specifically a service or system that provides access to the 
 Internet and such systems operated or services offered by 
 libraries or educational institutions.''.
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