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Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 11, 2025
Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2025 or the SHIELD Act of 2025
This bill establishes new federal criminal offenses related to the distribution of sexual exploitative content.
First, the bill makes it a crime to knowingly mail or distribute (or intentionally threaten to mail or distribute) an intimate visual depiction of a recognizable adult engaged in sexual conduct. To constitute a crime, certain elements must be met, including that the distribution must be nonconsensual; the depiction is not a matter of public concern; and the distribution must be intended to cause harm or cause harm. A violator is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both; mandatory restitution; and the forfeiture of material involved in the offense, property constituting or derived from the proceeds from the offense, and property used to commit or facilitate the offense.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Second, the bill makes it a crime to knowingly mail or distribute (or intentionally threaten to mail or distribute) a visual depiction of a nude minor with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. A violator is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to three years, or both; mandatory restitution; and the forfeiture of material involved in the offense, property constituting or derived from the proceeds from the offense, and property used to commit or facilitate the offense.
People & committees
Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] · R–NJ
Legislative record
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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.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. 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 SHIELD Act of 2025 would create federal crimes for mailing or distributing certain private sexual or nude images of adults when distribution is intended to cause harm or actually causes harm, subject to specified conditions. It would also prohibit mailing or distributing certain nude images of children for abusive or sexual purposes, and certain threats to commit the covered offenses. Penalties would include fines and prison. Exceptions would protect specified legitimate activities and limit communications providers’ liability for others’ content.
This Act may be cited as the Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2025 or the SHIELD Act of 2025.
(1) In general Except as provided in subsection (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, or to knowingly distribute using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, an intimate visual depiction of an individual— (A) that was obtained or created under circumstances in which the actor knew or reasonably should have known the individual depicted had a reasonable expectation of privacy; (B) where what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed by the individual in a public or commercial setting; (C) where what is depicted is not a matter of public concern; and (D) if the distribution— (i) is intended to cause harm; or (ii) causes harm, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, to the individual depicted.
(2) Involving minors Except as provided in subsection (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, or to knowingly distribute using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a visual depiction of a nude minor with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
(e) Threats Any person who intentionally threatens to commit an offense under subsection (b) for the purpose of intimidation, coercion, extortion, or to create mental distress shall be punished as provided in subsection (c).
(c) Penalty (1) In general (A) Visual depiction of a nude minor Any person who violates subsection (b)(2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both. (B) Intimate visual depiction Any person who violates subsection (b)(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.
(B) shall not apply to distributions that are made reasonably and in good faith—
(v) for legitimate medical, scientific, or educational purposes;
(2) Service providers This section shall not apply to any provider of a communications service with regard to content provided by another information content provider unless the provider of the communications service intentionally solicits, or knowingly and predominantly distributes, such content.
The bill would add a new section 1802 to the federal criminal code. Its adult-image definition covers people who were at least 18 when the image was created and are recognizable to someone else from the image or accompanying information. The image must show sexually explicit conduct or unclothed, visible genitals, anus, pubic area, or a female nipple.
Chapter 88 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 1802. Certain activities relating to intimate visual depictions
(3) Intimate visual depiction The term intimate visual depiction means any visual depiction (as that term is defined in section 2256(5)) of an individual— (A) who has attained 18 years of age at the time the intimate visual depiction is created; (B) who is recognizable to a third party from the intimate image itself or information or text displayed in connection with the intimate image itself or information or text displayed in connection with the intimate image; and (C) (i) who is depicted engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or (ii) whose genitals, anus, pubic area, or female nipple are unclothed and visible.
The adult-image offense would cover knowingly mailing a covered image or knowingly distributing it using any means or facility of, or in a way affecting, interstate or foreign commerce. Subject to the exceptions, all these conditions must apply: the image was obtained or created under circumstances in which the actor knew or reasonably should have known the depicted person had a reasonable expectation of privacy; the depicted person had not voluntarily exposed what is shown in a public or commercial setting; what is depicted is not a matter of public concern; and distribution is intended to cause harm or causes harm to the depicted person.
(1) In general Except as provided in subsection (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, or to knowingly distribute using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, an intimate visual depiction of an individual— (A) that was obtained or created under circumstances in which the actor knew or reasonably should have known the individual depicted had a reasonable expectation of privacy; (B) where what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed by the individual in a public or commercial setting; (C) where what is depicted is not a matter of public concern; and (D) if the distribution— (i) is intended to cause harm; or (ii) causes harm, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, to the individual depicted.
Agreeing to an image’s creation would not establish agreement to its distribution. Covered harm expressly includes psychological, financial, and reputational harm.
(ii) causes harm, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, to the individual depicted. For purposes of this paragraph, the fact that the subject of the depiction consented to the creation of the depiction shall not establish that that person consented to its distribution.
The separate nude-minor definition covers someone who was under 18 when the image was created and is recognizable to another person from the image or accompanying information. It requires the minor’s actual anus, genitals, pubic area, or post-pubescent female nipple to be unclothed and visible, displayed in a way that does not constitute sexually explicit conduct.
(6) Visual depiction of a nude minor The term visual depiction of a nude minor means any visual depiction (as that term is defined in section 2256(5)) of an individual who is recognizable by an individual other than the depicted individual from the intimate image itself or information or text displayed in connection with the intimate image who was under 18 years of age at the time the visual depiction was created in which the actual anus, genitals, or pubic area, or post-pubescent female nipple, of the minor are unclothed, visible, and displayed in a manner that does not constitute sexually explicit conduct.
Subject to the exceptions, the minor-image offense would prohibit knowingly mailing a covered image or knowingly distributing it using any means or facility of, or in a way affecting, interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the minor, or to arouse or satisfy anyone’s sexual desire.
(2) Involving minors Except as provided in subsection (d), it shall be unlawful to knowingly mail, or to knowingly distribute using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a visual depiction of a nude minor with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
The proposed maximum prison terms would be three years for the nude-minor offense and two years for the adult-image offense. Either offense could also result in a fine, with or without imprisonment.
(c) Penalty (1) In general (A) Visual depiction of a nude minor Any person who violates subsection (b)(2) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both. (B) Intimate visual depiction Any person who violates subsection (b)(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.
For a covered conviction, including conspiracy, courts would have to order forfeiture—surrender of property to the United States—in addition to other punishment and regardless of state law. This would cover unlawfully distributed material, the convicted person’s interests in property constituting or derived from the offense’s gross proceeds or traceable to that property, and that person’s personal property used or intended to help commit the offense.
(2) Forfeiture (A) In general The court, in imposing a sentence on any person convicted of a violation involving intimate visual depictions or visual depictions of a nude minor under this section, or convicted of a conspiracy of a violation involving intimate visual depictions or visual depictions of a nude minor under this section, shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed and irrespective of any provision of State law, that such person forfeit to the United States— (i) any material distributed in violation of this section; (ii) such person’s interest in property, real or personal, constituting or derived from any gross proceeds of such violation, or any property traceable to such property, obtained or retained directly or indirectly as a result of such violation; and (iii) any personal property of the person used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or to facilitate the commission of such violation.
The bill would apply section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act, except subsections (a) and (d), to criminal forfeiture under the new section. It would make restitution available as provided in title 18, section 2264, and insert a reference to section 1802 into section 2264(a). The referenced statutes are not supplied, so their detailed procedures and restitution requirements cannot be established from this source set.
(B) Procedures Section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853), with the exception of subsections (a) and (d), applies to the criminal forfeiture of property pursuant to subparagraph (A). (3) Restitution Restitution shall be available as provided in section 2264 of this title.
(c) Conforming amendment Section 2264(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting , or under section 1802 of this title before the period.
The proposed section would preserve lawfully authorized investigative, protective, and intelligence activities of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and federal intelligence agencies.
(A) does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States;
Distributions made reasonably and in good faith would be exempt when reporting unlawful or unsolicited activity, fulfilling a legal, professional, or other lawful obligation, seeking help after receiving an unsolicited intimate image, or assisting the depicted person.
(B) shall not apply to distributions that are made reasonably and in good faith— (i) to report unlawful or unsolicited activity or in pursuance of a legal or professional or other lawful obligation; (ii) to seek support or help with respect to the receipt of an unsolicited intimate visual depiction;
(iv) to assist the depicted individual;
Additional exceptions would cover reasonable, good-faith distributions relating to someone who possesses or distributes an image of themselves engaged in nudity or sexually explicit conduct; distributions for legitimate medical, scientific, or educational purposes; and distributions as part of document production or filings associated with legal proceedings. The text does not further define the scope of the phrase “relating to” in the first of these exceptions.
(B) shall not apply to distributions that are made reasonably and in good faith—
(iii) relating to an individual who possesses or distributes a visual depiction of himself or herself engaged in nudity or sexually explicit conduct;
(v) for legitimate medical, scientific, or educational purposes; or (vi) as part of a document production or filing associated with a legal proceeding.
Communications service providers would be exempt for content supplied by another information content provider unless they intentionally solicit it or knowingly and predominantly distribute it. The bill defines communications services through existing statutory categories covering common carriers acting in that capacity, electronic communication services, information services, and interactive computer services. It incorporates the definition of information content provider from section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934; that definition is not reproduced in the supplied text.
(1) Communications service The term communications service means— (A) a service provided by a person that is a common carrier, as that term is defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), insofar as the person is acting as a common carrier; (B) an electronic communication service, as that term is defined in section 2510; (C) an information service, as that term is defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153); and (D) an interactive computer service, as that term is defined in section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).
(2) Information content provider The term information content provider has the meaning given that term in section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).
(2) Service providers This section shall not apply to any provider of a communications service with regard to content provided by another information content provider unless the provider of the communications service intentionally solicits, or knowingly and predominantly distributes, such content.
Intentionally threatening to commit either covered offense for intimidation, coercion, extortion, or to create mental distress would also be punishable under the bill’s penalty provisions.
(e) Threats Any person who intentionally threatens to commit an offense under subsection (b) for the purpose of intimidation, coercion, extortion, or to create mental distress shall be punished as provided in subsection (c).
Federal jurisdiction would extend to offenses outside the United States if either the defendant or the depicted person is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
(f) Extraterritoriality There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section if the defendant or the depicted individual is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
The new section would not limit the application of other relevant laws, expressly including title 18, section 2252.
(g) Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the application of any other relevant law, including section 2252 of this title.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated December 5, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on the Judiciary on February 11, 2025. This snapshot does not establish subsequent legislative action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2025-12-05T21:42:26Z. 2025-02-11: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-02-11: Introduced in House 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 after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials, or establish amendment attachment history.
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 after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials; formal earmark disclosures and related materials were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
A special exemption warrants scrutiny under this category. Classification describes the legal treatment, not a judgment about its justification.
Communications service providers would receive a specific exemption for content supplied by another information content provider, unless they intentionally solicit it or knowingly and predominantly distribute it. This carve-out limits providers’ exposure under the bill’s central image-distribution policy.
(2) Service providers This section shall not apply to any provider of a communications service with regard to content provided by another information content provider unless the provider of the communications service intentionally solicits, or knowingly and predominantly distributes, such content.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Dec 5, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI