HB3553 EngrossedLRB103 30436 LNS 56867 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Civil
5Liability for Unsolicited Intimate Images Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Electronic communication device" means (i) any type of
8instrument, device, machine, equipment, or software that is
9capable of transmitting, acquiring, encrypting, decrypting, or
10receiving any signs, signals, writings, images, and sounds or
11intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical, or other
12electromagnetic systems or (ii) any part, accessory, or
13component of such an instrument, device, machine, equipment,
14or software, including, but not limited to, any computer
15circuit, computer chip, security module, smart card,
16electronic mechanism, or other component, accessory, or part,
17that is capable of facilitating the transmission, acquisition,
18encryption, decryption, or reception of signs, signals,
19writings, images, and sounds or intelligence of any nature by
20wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems.
21    "Emotional distress" means mental suffering, anxiety or
22alarm.
23    "Obscene material" means material, including, but not

 

 

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1limited to, images depicting a person engaging in an act of
2sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual
3penetration, or masturbation, or depicting the exposed
4genitals or anus of any person, taken as a whole, that to the
5average person, applying contemporary statewide standards,
6appeals to the prurient interest, that, taken as a whole,
7depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive
8way, and that, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary,
9artistic, political, or scientific value.
10    "Reasonable person" means a person in the plaintiff's
11circumstances with the plaintiff's knowledge, or lack of
12knowledge, of the defendant and the defendant's prior acts.
 
13    Section 10. Unsolicited intimate image liability. Any
14person 18 years of age or older who knowingly and
15intentionally transmits obscene material by computer or other
16electronic means to the computer or electronic communication
17device of another person 18 years of age or older commits a
18trespass and is liable to the recipient of the obscene
19material for actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, in
20addition to reasonable attorney's fees and costs, if the
21person who receives the obscene material has not consented to
22the receipt of the obscene material or has expressly forbidden
23the receipt of the obscene material and if a reasonable person
24who receives the obscene material would suffer emotional
25distress as a result of the receipt of the obscene material.

 

 

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1The court may also enjoin and restrain the defendant from
2committing such further acts.
3    The remedies provided by this Act are cumulative and shall
4not be construed as restricting a remedy that is available
5under any other law.
 
6    Section 15. Application. The provisions of this Act shall
7not apply to (i) any Internet service provider, mobile data
8provider, or operator of an online or mobile application, to
9the extent that such entity is transmitting, routing, or
10providing connections for electronic communications initiated
11by or at the direction of another, (ii) any service that
12transmits material, including an on-demand, subscription, or
13advertising-supported service, (iii) a health care provider
14that transmits material for a legitimate medical purpose, or
15(iv) any transmission of commercial email.
 
16    Section 20. Venue. Venue for an action under this Act may
17lie in the jurisdiction where the obscene material is
18transmitted from or where the obscene material is received or
19possessed by the plaintiff.