Bill Text: TX HB235 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-12 - Filed [HB235 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB235-Introduced.html

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89R15 JRR-D
By: Guillen H.B. No. 235

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful
disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 98B.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection
(c) to read as follows:
(a) A defendant is liable, as provided by this chapter, to a
person depicted in intimate visual material for damages arising
from the disclosure of the material if:
(1) the defendant discloses the intimate visual
material without the effective consent of the depicted person and
with the intent to harm that person;
(2) either:
(A) at the time of the disclosure, the defendant
knows or has reason to believe that the intimate visual material was
obtained by the defendant or created under circumstances in which
the depicted person had a reasonable expectation that the material
would remain private; or
(B) the intimate visual material was created,
adapted, or modified as described by Subsection (c);
(3) the disclosure of the intimate visual material
causes harm to the depicted person; and
(4) the disclosure of the intimate visual material
reveals the identity of the depicted person in any manner,
including through:
(A) any accompanying or subsequent information
or material related to the intimate visual material; or
(B) information or material provided by a third
party in response to the disclosure of the intimate visual
material.
(c) For purposes of conduct for which a defendant is liable
under Subsection (a) or (b), intimate visual material to which that
conduct applies includes a depiction of a person:
(1) who is recognizable as an actual person by the
person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic,
such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and
(2) whose image was used in creating, adapting, or
modifying the intimate visual material, including
computer-generated intimate visual material that was created,
adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence application
or other computer software.
SECTION 2. Section 21.16, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
follows:
(b) A person commits an offense if:
(1) without the effective consent of the depicted
person and with the intent to harm that person, the person discloses
visual material depicting another person with the person's intimate
parts exposed or engaged in sexual conduct;
(2) either:
(A) at the time of the disclosure, the person
knows or has reason to believe that the visual material was obtained
by the person or created under circumstances in which the depicted
person had a reasonable expectation that the visual material would
remain private; or
(B) the visual material was created, adapted, or
modified as described by Subsection (d-1);
(3) the disclosure of the visual material causes harm
to the depicted person; and
(4) the disclosure of the visual material reveals the
identity of the depicted person in any manner, including through:
(A) any accompanying or subsequent information
or material related to the visual material; or
(B) information or material provided by a third
party in response to the disclosure of the visual material.
(d-1) For purposes of conduct prohibited under Subsection
(b), (c), or (d), visual material to which that conduct applies
includes a depiction of a person:
(1) who is recognizable as an actual person by the
person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic,
such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and
(2) whose image was used in creating, adapting, or
modifying the visual material, including computer-generated visual
material that was created, adapted, or modified using an artificial
intelligence application or other computer software.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 98B.002, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of
action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A
cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 21.16, Penal Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date
of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense was committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
was committed before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.