S.Amdt. 6017

This amendment, proposed by Mr. Grassley and Mr. Durbin, adds two new subtitles to bill S. 4784 to address the protection of children and victims of non-consensual digital imagery.

STOP CSAM Act of 2026

This portion of the amendment aims to strengthen the protections and obligations regarding child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Its primary changes include:

• Court Protections: It expands the definition of "covered persons" and "protected information" to better shield victims and witnesses in federal court. It also creates a presumption that disclosing this information would be detrimental to the victim.
• Victim Support: It authorizes $25 million annually for the courts and $15 million for the appointment of trustees or fiduciaries to manage restitution payments for minors or incapacitated victims.
• Tech Industry Accountability: It mandates that service providers report apparent child pornography or exploitation to NCMEC within 60 days. It requires large providers (over 1 million monthly users and $50 million in revenue) to submit annual transparency reports on their safety tools and policies.
• Penalties: It establishes criminal and civil fines for providers who fail to report or preserve material. It also creates a specific offense for providers that intentionally host child pornography or knowingly facilitate exploitation.
• Civil Remedies: It expands the right for victims to sue for personal injuries, including a new private right of action against interactive computer services or app stores that recklessly promote or aid in these violations.

DEFIANCE Act of 2026

This portion focuses on "intimate digital forgeries," such as deepfakes. Its primary goals are:

• Defining Digital Forgeries: It defines an "intimate digital forgery" as a computer-generated depiction of an identifiable individual that falsely represents them in an intimate way and looks authentic to a reasonable person.
• Civil Actions: It allows victims to bring civil lawsuits against anyone who knowingly produces, possesses with intent to disclose, or discloses these forgeries without consent.
• Victim Relief: It allows victims to recover liquidated damages (between $150,000 and $250,000) or actual damages, as well as attorney fees and punitive damages.
• Privacy: It allows courts to protect the plaintiff's identity through pseudonyms and redacted filings.