SHIELD Act of 2019
Latest action · Jun 26, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 22, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2019 or the SHIELD Act of 2019
This bill establishes a new criminal offense related to the distribution of intimate visual depictions.
Specifically, it makes it a crime to knowingly distribute (or intentionally threaten to distribute) an intimate visual depiction of an individual (1) with knowledge of or reckless disregard for the individual's lack of consent and reasonable expectation of privacy, and (2) without a reasonable belief that distributing the depiction touches a matter of public concern.
A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.
Cosponsors 92
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 22, 2019 to Sep 4, 2020; 26 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-MI | Brenda L. Lawrence | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-IL | Cheri Bustos | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| R-OH | David P. Joyce | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-MI | Debbie Dingell | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-NM | Debra A. Haaland | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| R-NY | John Katko | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-MA | Katherine M. Clark | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Katie Hill | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-FL | Lois Frankel | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-PA | Madeleine Dean | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-TX | Sylvia R. Garcia | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| D-TX | Veronica Escobar | Original | May 22, 2019 |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Jun 3, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Jun 3, 2019 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Jun 18, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Jun 18, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Bill Foster | Jun 18, 2019 | |
| R-OH | Steve Stivers | Jun 18, 2019 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Jul 17, 2019 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Jul 17, 2019 | |
| D-IA | Cynthia Axne | Jul 30, 2019 | |
| D-GA | Lucy McBath | Jul 30, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Oct 29, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Oct 29, 2019 | |
| D-NJ | Tom Malinowski | Oct 30, 2019 | |
| D-PA | Chrissy Houlahan | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-TX | Colin Z. Allred | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Debbie Mucarsel-Powell | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Donna E. Shalala | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Harley Rouda | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Juan Vargas | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-HI | Tulsi Gabbard | Nov 1, 2019 | |
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-MI | Elissa Slotkin | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Katie Porter | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Lauren Underwood | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Mike Levin | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-VI | Stacey E. Plaskett | Nov 5, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Nov 8, 2019 | |
| D-MD | C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger | Nov 8, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Dean Phillips | Nov 8, 2019 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Nov 12, 2019 | |
| D-VA | Jennifer Wexton | Nov 13, 2019 | |
| D-NJ | Mikie Sherrill | Nov 13, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Nov 14, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Robin L. Kelly | Nov 14, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Nov 14, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Nov 15, 2019 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Nov 22, 2019 | |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | Nov 22, 2019 | |
| D-HI | Ed Case | Nov 26, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Nov 26, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Jimmy Panetta | Dec 5, 2019 | |
| D-IN | Peter J. Visclosky | Dec 5, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Dec 6, 2019 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Dec 9, 2019 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Dec 11, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Dec 19, 2019 | |
| D-IA | Abby Finkenauer | Jan 7, 2020 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne, Jr. | Jan 7, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Jan 15, 2020 | |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Feb 5, 2020 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Feb 5, 2020 | |
| D-MI | Haley M. Stevens | Feb 12, 2020 | |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Feb 28, 2020 | |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | Mar 11, 2020 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Apr 7, 2020 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Jun 18, 2020 | |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Jun 24, 2020 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Aug 7, 2020 | |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Sep 4, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred May 22, 2019 |
| Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee | Referred Jun 26, 2019 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 26, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- May 22, 2019Introduced in House
- May 22, 2019Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 86, May 22, 2019, page H4120.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2111 | SHIELD Act of 2019 | Identical bill | Jul 15, 2019 |
| HR 6998 | SHIELD Act of 2022 | Reintroduced Bill | Nov 1, 2022 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide that it is unlawful to knowingly distribute private intimate visual depictions with reckless disregard for the individual's lack of consent to the distribution, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- SHIELD Act of 2019
- Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 22, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
