SHIELD Act of 2023

Summary

Creates a new federal criminal offense for knowingly mailing or distributing certain "intimate visual depictions" and defined nude depictions of minors across interstate or foreign commerce or by mail. The bill defines covered terms (including types of communications services and what counts as an "intimate visual depiction"), adopts existing federal definitions for minors and sexually explicit conduct, and applies the rule to images of adults who are recognizable to third parties as well as to certain non‑sexually explicit nude images of persons under 18. The excerpt does not include the specific penalty ranges, procedures, or enforcement details. The change would primarily affect people whose images are shared, online platforms and their moderators, mail/interstate distribution channels, and criminal justice actors; it may also raise legal questions about free speech and interaction with existing child‑pornography and platform‑liability law.

• Creates a new federal crime for knowingly mailing or distributing certain 'intimate visual depictions' of adults and defined nude depictions of minors across interstate or foreign commerce.
• Adopts and cross‑references existing federal definitions for communications services, information content providers, minors, and sexually explicit conduct.
• Defines 'intimate visual depiction' to cover recognizably identifiable adults shown in sexually explicit conduct or with exposed genitals, anus, pubic area, or female nipple.
• Defines a separate category for visual depictions of nude minors that are recognizable and show uncovered anatomy but are not classified as sexually explicit under existing law.
• Covers distribution through mail and a broad set of interstate commerce channels, which could include digital platforms and common carriers by reference.
• The excerpt does not include penalty amounts, sentencing rules, or enforcement procedures, so enforcement details are unclear from the provided text.
• Likely to affect victims of image sharing, online platforms and content moderators, mail/interstate carriers, and criminal justice actors.
• May raise constitutional and statutory questions about free speech and how the new offenses interact with existing child‑pornography laws and Section 230 platform liability provisions.