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People & committees
Rep. Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1] · R–SC
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jan 23, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-11 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Sue VOYEURS Act would let people sue in federal court when someone captures intimate images without their consent, knowing or recklessly disregarding that they did not consent. The person depicted must have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the case must meet specified federal connection requirements. Available remedies would include money damages and court orders stopping display or disclosure. Surveillance by a law enforcement officer or agency under a lawfully issued warrant would be exempt from this new civil action.
Except as provided in paragraph (3), an individual whose intimate visual depiction is captured, in a circumstance described in paragraph (4), without the consent of the individual, where such capture is done by a person who knows that, or recklessly disregards whether, the individual has not consented to the capture, and does so under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, may bring a civil action against that person in an appropriate district court of the United States for relief as set forth in paragraph (2).
an individual may recover the actual damages sustained by the individual or liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000 for each intimate visual depiction captured of the individual
the court may, in addition to any other relief available at law, order equitable relief, including a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or a permanent injunction ordering the defendant to cease display or disclosure of the visual depiction.
An individual may not bring an action for relief under this section relating to the actions of a law enforcement officer or agency, conducting surveillance pursuant to a lawfully issued warrant.
Section 1 would name the bill the Sue VOYEURS Act. Section 2 would add a new civil lawsuit provision, section 1309A, to Title XIII of division W of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022.
This Act may be cited as the Sue Victimizers and Offenders who Yield Explicit Unconsented Recordings Surreptitiously Act or the Sue VOYEURS Act.
Title XIII of division W of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, is amended by inserting after section 1309 the following: 1309A. Civil action relating to capture of intimate images
The proposed lawsuit would target the person who captured the image. The right to sue would depend on nonconsent, knowledge or reckless disregard of nonconsent, a reasonable expectation of privacy, and a qualifying federal connection. The provision does not require later distribution of the image.
Except as provided in paragraph (3), an individual whose intimate visual depiction is captured, in a circumstance described in paragraph (4), without the consent of the individual, where such capture is done by a person who knows that, or recklessly disregards whether, the individual has not consented to the capture, and does so under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, may bring a civil action against that person in an appropriate district court of the United States for relief as set forth in paragraph (2).
For someone under 18, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, a legal guardian, estate representative, another family member, or another person appointed as suitable by the court could exercise the person's rights. The defendant could not serve as that representative or guardian.
In the case of an individual who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the individual or representative of the individual’s estate, another family member, or any other person appointed as suitable by the court, may assume the individual’s rights under this section, but in no event shall the defendant be named as such representative or guardian.
A person could recover actual damages—the harm measured in money—or a preset amount of $150,000 for each intimate depiction captured. They could also recover the costs of the lawsuit, including reasonable attorney fees and other reasonably incurred litigation costs.
an individual may recover the actual damages sustained by the individual or liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000 for each intimate visual depiction captured of the individual, and the cost of the action, including reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred
Courts could issue temporary or permanent orders stopping the defendant from displaying or disclosing the image. They could also protect the confidentiality of a plaintiff using a pseudonym, or substitute name. These court orders would be discretionary.
the court may, in addition to any other relief available at law, order equitable relief, including a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or a permanent injunction ordering the defendant to cease display or disclosure of the visual depiction.
In ordering relief under subparagraph (A), the court may grant injunctive relief maintaining the confidentiality of a plaintiff using a pseudonym.
The new right to sue would exclude actions relating to surveillance by a law enforcement officer or agency under a lawfully issued warrant.
An individual may not bring an action for relief under this section relating to the actions of a law enforcement officer or agency, conducting surveillance pursuant to a lawfully issued warrant.
Qualifying federal connections would include specified travel or use of a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in connection with the capture. Payments and communications connected with the capture could also qualify under the specified commerce conditions.
(A) the individual traveled in interstate or foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in paragraph (1); (B) the individual used a means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in paragraph (1); (C) any payment of any kind was made, directly or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in paragraph (1) using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce; (D) the individual transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of the conduct described in paragraph (1) using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means or in manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic transmission
Other qualifying connections would include using equipment, an item, or another object that had traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; conduct within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or a U.S. territory or possession; or conduct otherwise occurring in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
(E) any equipment, item, or other object that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to perform the conduct described in paragraph (1); (F) the conduct described in paragraph (1) occurred within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or possession of the United States; or (G) the conduct described in paragraph (1) otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.
Capturing an image would include photographing, filming, videotaping, recording by any means, or broadcasting it. Broadcasting would mean electronically transmitting an image with the intent that people view it.
The term broadcast means to electronically transmit a visual image with the intent that it be viewed by a person or persons.
The term capture, with respect to an image, means to videotape, photograph, film, record by any means, or broadcast.
Consent would require affirmative, conscious, competent, voluntary authorization from the person depicted, free from force, fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion.
The term consent means an affirmative, conscious, competent, and voluntary authorization made by the individual free from force, fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion.
Covered intimate depictions would include naked or underwear-covered private areas; the display or transfer of bodily sexual fluids onto any part of a person's body or from their body; or a person engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Private areas would mean the genitals, pubic area, anus, buttocks, or female nipple. The bill would incorporate definitions of visual depiction and sexually explicit conduct from 18 U.S.C. 2256; those referenced definitions are not reproduced in the supplied source.
(A) means a visual depiction, as that term is defined in section 2256(5) of title 18, United States Code, that depicts— (i) the naked or undergarment clad private area of an individual; or (ii) the display or transfer of bodily sexual fluids— (I) on to any part of the body of an individual; (II) from the body of an individual; or (iii) an individual engaging in sexually explicit conduct
The term private area means, with respect to an individual, the genitals, pubic area, anus, buttocks, or female nipple of that individual.
The term sexually explicit conduct has the meaning given to the term in subparagraph (A) of section 2256(2) of title 18, United States Code.
Images made in public could qualify under the definition's condition concerning a person who did not voluntarily display the depicted content or consent to the depicted sexual conduct. Privacy would be judged by what a reasonable person would believe: that they could undress without their private areas being captured, or that those areas would not be publicly visible. The latter protection could apply in public or private places.
(B) includes any visual depictions described in subparagraph (A) produced while the 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
(A) circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that he or she could disrobe in privacy, without being concerned that an image of a private area of the individual was being captured; or (B) circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that a private area of the individual would not be visible to the public, regardless of whether that person is in a public or private place.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated January 23, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Judiciary Committee on February 11, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-01-23T18:33:55Z. 2025-02-11: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-02-11: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-11. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Amending an earlier appropriations act does not by itself establish rider status. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a narrow exemption from the proposed civil remedy. Identifying that exemption is not a judgment about its justification.
Law enforcement officers and agencies conducting surveillance under a lawfully issued warrant would receive an express exemption from this new civil action. This is a narrow exception within the bill's main policy of allowing lawsuits over nonconsensual capture of intimate images.
An individual may not bring an action for relief under this section relating to the actions of a law enforcement officer or agency, conducting surveillance pursuant to a lawfully issued warrant.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jan 23, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI