Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1590

HB1590 Engrossed LRB104 08224 JRC 18274 b

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Civil Liability for Unsolicited Intimate Images Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Electronic communication device" means (i) any type of instrument, device, machine, equipment, or software that is capable of transmitting, acquiring, encrypting, decrypting, or receiving any signs, signals, writings, images, and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems or (ii) any part, accessory, or component of such an instrument, device, machine, equipment, or software, including, but not limited to, any computer circuit, computer chip, security module, smart card, electronic mechanism, or other component, accessory, or part, that is capable of facilitating the transmission, acquisition, encryption, decryption, or reception of signs, signals, writings, images, and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems.

"Emotional distress" means mental suffering, anxiety, or alarm.

"Obscene material" means material, including, but not limited to, images depicting a person engaging in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or masturbation, or depicting the exposed genitals or anus of any person, taken as a whole, that to the average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interest, that, taken as a whole, depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and that, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

"Reasonable person" means a person in the plaintiff's circumstances with the plaintiff's knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of the defendant and the defendant's prior acts.

Section 10. Unsolicited intimate image liability. Any person 18 years of age or older who knowingly and intentionally transmits obscene material by computer or other electronic means to the computer or electronic communication device of another person 18 years of age or older commits a trespass and is liable to the recipient of the obscene material for actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, in addition to reasonable attorney's fees and costs, if the person who receives the obscene material has not consented to the receipt of the obscene material or has expressly forbidden the receipt of the obscene material and if a reasonable person who receives the obscene material would suffer emotional distress as a result of the receipt of the obscene material. The court may also enjoin and restrain the defendant from committing such further acts.

The remedies provided by this Act are cumulative and shall not be construed as restricting a remedy that is available under any other law.

Section 15. Application. The provisions of this Act shall not apply to (i) any Internet service provider, mobile data provider, or operator of an online or mobile application, to the extent that such entity is transmitting, routing, or providing connections for electronic communications initiated by or at the direction of another, (ii) any service that transmits material, including an on-demand, subscription, or advertising-supported service, (iii) a health care provider that transmits material for a legitimate medical purpose, or (iv) any transmission of commercial email.

Section 20. Venue. Venue for an action under this Act may lie in the jurisdiction where the obscene material is transmitted from or where the obscene material is received or possessed by the plaintiff.