Bill Summary
The "Halting Online Nonconsensual Offenses in the Ranks Act" (HONOR Act) aims to strengthen the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) by explicitly prohibiting the wrongful broadcast, distribution, or publication of intimate visual images without consent, particularly in cases involving digital forgeries. The legislation outlines specific offenses related to the unauthorized sharing of intimate visual content, especially when it causes harm to the identifiable individual depicted.
Key provisions include:
1. **Expanded Definitions**: The act defines terms such as "intimate visual depiction," "digital forgery," and "identifiable individual," clarifying what constitutes an offense.
2. **Prohibitions**: It establishes various offenses depending on the context, such as broadcasting intimate images obtained without consent or sharing digital forgeries with malicious intent.
3. **Consent Clarification**: The legislation emphasizes that consent to create an intimate image does not imply consent for its further distribution.
4. **Exceptions**: It outlines exceptions for lawful activities, including law enforcement investigations and disclosures made in good faith for medical or legal purposes.
The HONOR Act aims to protect service members from nonconsensual exploitation and enhance accountability within the military justice system regarding intimate visual content.
Possible Impacts
The "Halting Online Nonconsensual Offenses in the Ranks Act" (HONOR Act) introduces significant modifications to the Uniform Code of Military Justice regarding the wrongful broadcast and distribution of intimate visual images. Here are three examples of how this legislation could affect people:
1. **Protection from Nonconsensual Sharing**: The HONOR Act aims to protect individuals, particularly service members, from having their intimate visual images shared without consent. This means that if someone in the military shares intimate images of another service member without their permission, they could face serious consequences, including court-martial. This protection empowers individuals by giving them legal recourse against nonconsensual sharing, potentially reducing instances of revenge porn and promoting a safer environment.
2. **Increased Accountability for Digital Forgery**: The legislation specifically addresses the creation and distribution of digital forgeries—manipulated images that could harm an individual's reputation or cause psychological distress. By criminalizing the act of disseminating such forgeries, the HONOR Act holds individuals accountable for using technology to exploit or defame others. This could lead to a decrease in the use of deepfakes and other manipulative digital content that targets individuals, fostering a culture of respect and accountability within the military ranks.
3. **Clearer Definitions and Consent Requirements**: The HONOR Act provides explicit definitions regarding consent, intimate visual depictions, and digital forgeries, clarifying the legal landscape surrounding these issues. This clarity may help prevent misunderstandings about what constitutes consent and the implications of sharing intimate content. The emphasis on the need for affirmative, conscious, and voluntary consent can educate service members about boundaries and encourage a culture of respect for personal privacy, ultimately contributing to healthier interpersonal relationships.
[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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