An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in sexual offenses, further providing for the offense of unlawful dissemination of intimate image; and, in minors, further providing for the offense of sexual abuse of children.
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Create an account to take a stance, submit a written position, or contact your legislator.
Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Overview
This bill amends Pennsylvania’s criminal code to address the unlawful dissemination of intimate images, both real and artificially generated. It creates a new offense of ‘unlawful dissemination of intimate image’ which prohibits sharing images of a person in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct, or artificially generated depictions, with the intent to harass, alarm, or cause harm. The law also includes provisions for minors and addresses the statute of limitations for prosecution.
Key provisions
- Creates a new offense of ‘unlawful dissemination of intimate image’ for sharing real or AI-generated images depicting nudity or sexual conduct.
- Defines ‘artificially generated intimate image’ as images created by AI or photo editing software that appear to depict a non-existent sexual encounter.
- Establishes different grading levels for the offense based on whether the depicted person is a minor and the intent behind the dissemination.
- Provides a defense to prosecution if the image was disseminated with the consent of the individual depicted.
- Sets a five-year statute of limitations for prosecution, or three years from discovery by the victim.
- Defines key terms such as ‘intimate image,’ ‘artificial intelligence,’ and ‘photo editing software’.
- Addresses the dissemination of multiple intimate images as a single offense.
- Specifies that the dissemination of intimate images with the intent to cause sexual arousal, humiliation, or degradation is a serious offense.
Bill text
Read the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
Document of record
- Version
- Pn 2945 Html
- Published
- Not published in the source record
This version is published only as a document. Open the viewer to read it here, or download the file.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
9 on record
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Arguments
Reasons offered for and against this legislation.
Arguments in favor
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yours