As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 84
2025-2026
Representatives Demetriou, Williams
Cosponsors: Representatives Bird, Brennan, Claggett, Click, Dean, Fowler Arthur,
Gross, Hiner, Holmes, Hoops, John, Johnson, King, Klopfenstein, McClain, Miller,
K., Newman, Peterson, Richardson, Robb Blasdel, Salvo, Schmidt, Sigrist,
Stewart, Thomas, C., Willis, Workman, Young
A B I L L
To amend sections 2307.66, 2917.211, and 2981.02
and to enact sections 2307.68 and 2907.312 of
the Revised Code to enact the Innocence Act to
prohibit an organization from failing to verify
the age of a person attempting to access
material that is obscene or harmful to
juveniles, to prohibit a person from using
another person's likeness to create sexual
images of the other person, and to create a
private right of action for each prohibited
activity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2307.66, 2917.211, and 2981.02 be
amended and sections 2307.68 and 2907.312 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2307.66. (A) A victim of a violation of section
2917.211 of the Revised Code has and may commence a civil cause
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of action against the offender for any of the following, in
addition to reasonable attorney's fees and the costs of bringing
the civil action:
(1) An injunction or a temporary restraining order
prohibiting further dissemination of the image that is the
subject of the violation;
(2) Compensatory and punitive damages for harm resulting
from the violation.
(B) The victim shall be presumed to have suffered harm as
a result of the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual
images or the nonconsensual dissemination of fabricated sexual
images.
(C) A civil action brought under division (A) of this
section shall be brought within four years after the victim
discovers the private sexual image or fabricated sexual image.
(D) The cause of action created by this section is in
addition to any other cause of action available under statutory
or common law.
(D) (E) As used in this section, "victim" has the same
meaning as in section 2930.01 of the Revised Code.
(F) "Fabricated sexual image" means a created, adapted, or
modified image that depicts another person, the other person is
recognizable in the image by the other person's face, likeness,
or other distinguishing characteristic, and the other person
depicted in the image is in a state of nudity or is engaged in a
sexual act.
Sec. 2307.68. (A) A victim of a violation of division (B)
(1) or (2) or (C)(3) or (4) of section 2907.312 of the Revised
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Code may commence a civil action against the offender for
injunctive relief in addition to reasonable attorney's fees and
the costs of bringing the civil action. The civil action shall
be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues.
The statute of limitations on the claim against the offender
does not run during any time when the victim is less than
eighteen years of age.
(B) For purposes of division (A) of this section, a victim
of a violation of division (B)(1) or (2) of section 2907.312 of
the Revised Code is a person under eighteen years of age or a
parent or guardian of the person under eighteen years of age who
is bringing the action on behalf of the person.
Sec. 2907.312. (A)(1) "Cable service provider" has the
same meaning as in section 1332.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Cloud service provider" means a third-party company
offering a cloud-based platform, infrastructure, application, or
storage services.
(3) "Direct-to-home satellite service" has the meaning
defined in 47 U.S.C. 303, as amended.
(4) "Identifying information" means photo identification
or public or private transactional data.
(5) "Interactive computer service" has the meaning defined
in the "Telecommunications Act of 1996," 47 U.S.C. 230, as
amended.
(6) "Internet provider" means a provider of internet
service, including all of the following:
(a) Broadband service, however defined or classified by
the federal communications commission;
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(b) Information service or telecommunications service,
both as defined in the "Telecommunications Act of 1996," 47
U.S.C. 153, as amended;
(c) Internet protocol-enabled services, as defined in
section 4927.01 of the Revised Code.
(7) "Mobile service" and "telecommunications carrier" have
the meanings defined in the "Telecommunications Act of 1996," 47
U.S.C. 153, as amended.
(8) "Organization" means both of the following:
(a) A commercial establishment that, for any form of
consideration, has as a significant or substantial portion of
its stock-in-trade in, derives a significant or substantial
portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or
substantial portion of its content or advertising to, or
maintains a substantial section of its sales or online content
display space for the sale, rental, or viewing of materials that
are obscene or harmful to juveniles;
(b) A commercial establishment as defined in section
2907.38 of the Revised Code. An establishment may have other
principal business purposes that do not involve selling,
delivering, furnishing, disseminating, providing, exhibiting, or
presenting any material or performance that is obscene or
harmful to juveniles on the internet and still be categorized as
an organization subject to this section. The existence of other
principal business purposes does not exempt an establishment
from being categorized as an organization subject to this
section, so long as one of its principal business purposes
involves selling, delivering, furnishing, disseminating,
providing, exhibiting, or presenting any material or performance
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that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet.
(9) "Photo identification" has the same meaning as in
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and includes any government-
issued identification issued by another state, district,
country, or sovereignty.
(10) "Reasonable age verification methods" means the
following:
(a) Verifying that the person attempting to access the
material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles
is eighteen years of age or older through the use of a
commercial age verification system that uses photo
identification or public or private transactional data to verify
the person's age;
(b) Using third-party and governmental databases that use
a commercial age verification system that uses photo
identification or public or private transactional data to verify
the person's age.
(11) "Transactional data" means a sequence of information
that documents an exchange, agreement, or transfer between a
person, organization, or third party for the purpose of
satisfying a request or event. "Transactional data" includes
mortgage, educational, and employment records.
(12) "Video service provider" has the same meaning as in
section 1332.21 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) No organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet shall recklessly fail to verify that any person
attempting to access the material or performance that is obscene
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or harmful to juveniles is eighteen years of age or older
through reasonable age verification methods.
(2) No organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet shall recklessly fail to verify that any person
creating an account or subscription to access any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles is eighteen
years of age or older through reasonable age verification
methods. The organization shall reverify the age of the person
every two years thereafter.
(3)(a) The organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet shall utilize a geofence system maintained and
monitored by a licensed location-based technology provider to
dynamically monitor the geolocation of persons attempting to
access or creating an account or subscription to access the
material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles.
(b) The location-based technology provider shall perform a
geolocation check to dynamically monitor the person attempting
to access or creating an account or subscription to access the
material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles
and the person's location.
(c) If the location-based technology provider determines
that a person is located in this state, the organization that
sells, delivers, furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or
presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful
to juveniles on the internet shall block that person until the
person's age has been verified using reasonable age verification
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methods.
(d) The organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet shall implement a notification mechanism to alert
persons attempting to access or creating an account or
subscription to access the material or performance that is
obscene or harmful to juveniles, of a geolocation check failure.
(C)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(1)
(b) of this section, an organization that sells, delivers,
furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any
material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles
on the internet and verifies the age of the person creating an
account or subscription to access the material or performance
that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet shall do
the following:
(i) Immediately delete all information gathered for the
purpose of age verification after the age verification is
completed, except the information maintained for account and
subscription access and for billing purposes;
(ii) Upon the request of the account holder or subscriber,
immediately delete the data maintained for user access to the
account or subscription and for billing purposes;
(iii) Develop and maintain a data privacy policy compliant
with federal and state law and maintain data in a manner that is
reasonably secure.
(b) On the expiration of two years after the creation of
the account or subscription, the organization shall immediately
delete all information relative to the creation of the user's
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account or subscription and any information maintained for
billing purposes, unless the account holder or subscriber renews
the account or subscription.
(2) An organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet and verifies the age of the person attempting to access
the material or performance that is obscene or harmful to
juveniles on the internet shall do both of the following:
(a) Immediately delete all information gathered for the
purpose of age verification after age verification is completed;
(b) Develop and maintain a data privacy policy compliant
with federal and state law and maintain data in a manner that is
reasonably secure.
(3) No organization described in division (C)(1) or (2) of
this section shall recklessly fail to immediately delete any
identifying information, except the information required for the
purpose of granting a person access to the account or
subscription and for billing the account or subscription, that
is used for age verification of the person attempting to access
or creating an account or subscription to access any material or
performance on the internet that is obscene or harmful to
juveniles after age verification is completed.
(4) No organization described in division (C)(1) or (2) of
this section shall transfer any information collected, except
for the purpose of age verification. Any party who receives
transferred information for age verification purposes shall
immediately delete all information gathered for the purpose of
age verification after age verification is completed.
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(D) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) A person who, while employed or contracted by a
newspaper, magazine, press association, news agency, news wire
service, radio or television station, or similar media, is
gathering, processing, transmitting, compiling, editing, or
disseminating information for the general public;
(2) A provider of an interactive computer service;
(3) A mobile service;
(4) An internet provider;
(5) A cable service provider;
(6) A direct-to-home satellite service;
(7) A video service provider;
(8) A cloud service provider.
(E) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under
division (B) or (C) of this section if all of the following
apply:
(1) The person attempting to access or creating an account
or subscription to access any material or performance that is
obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet provided
identifying information to the organization that sells,
delivers, furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or
presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful
to juveniles on the internet.
(2) The organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet made a bona fide effort to ascertain the true age of
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the person by verifying that the person attempting to access or
creating an account or subscription to access the material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles is eighteen
years of age or older through reasonable age verification
methods.
(3) The organization that sells, delivers, furnishes,
disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or
performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the
internet had no reason to believe that the person attempting to
access or creating an account or subscription to access any
material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles
was less than eighteen years of age.
(F) For purposes of this section, an organization may be
convicted of an offense pursuant to section 2901.23 of the
Revised Code and fined in accordance with section 2929.31 of the
Revised Code or an officer, agent, or employee of an
organization may be convicted of an offense pursuant to section
2901.24 of the Revised Code and penalized as if the officer,
agent, or employee of the organization acted on the officer's,
agent's, or employee's own behalf.
(G) Whoever violates division (B)(1) or (2) or (C)(3) or
(4) of this section is guilty of failure to verify age of person
accessing materials that are obscene or harmful to juveniles, a
misdemeanor of the first degree. Each day a person violates this
division constitutes a separate offense.
Sec. 2917.211. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Child-victim oriented offense" and "sexually oriented
offense" have the same meanings as in section 2950.01 of the
Revised Code.
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(2) "Disseminate" means to post, distribute, or publish on
a computer device, computer network, web site, or other
electronic device or medium of communication.
(2) (3) "Image" means a photograph, film, videotape,
digital recording, or other depiction or portrayal of a person.
(3) (4) "Interactive computer service" has the meaning
defined in the "Telecommunications Act of 1996," 47 U.S.C. 230,
as amended.
(4) (5) "Internet provider" means a provider of internet
service, including all of the following:
(a) Broadband service, however defined or classified by
the federal communications commission;
(b) Information service or telecommunications service,
both as defined in the "Telecommunications Act of 1996," 47
U.S.C. 153, as amended;
(c) Internet protocol-enabled services, as defined in
section 4927.01 of the Revised Code.
(5) (6) "Mobile service" and "telecommunications carrier"
have the meanings defined in 47 U.S.C. 153, as amended.
(6) (7) "Cable service provider" has the same meaning as
in section 1332.01 of the Revised Code.
(7) (8) "Direct-to-home satellite service" has the meaning
defined in 47 U.S.C. 303, as amended.
(8) (9) "Video service provider" has the same meaning as
in section 1332.21 of the Revised Code.
(9) (10) "Sexual act" means any of the following:
(a) Sexual activity;
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(b) Masturbation;
(c) An act involving a bodily substance that is performed
for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification;
(d) Sado-masochistic abuse.
(11) "Fabricated sexual image" has the same meaning as in
section 2307.66 of the Revised Code.
(B) No person shall knowingly disseminate an image of
another person if all of the following apply:
(1) The person in the image is eighteen years of age or
older.
(2) The person in the image can be identified from the
image itself or from information displayed in connection with
the image and the offender supplied the identifying information.
(3) The person in the image is in a state of nudity or is
engaged in a sexual act.
(4) The image is disseminated without consent from the
person in the image.
(5) The image is disseminated with intent to harm the
person in the image.
(C) No person shall knowingly disseminate a fabricated
sexual image of another person without the other person's
consent.
(D) No person shall, without the consent of the depicted
person, in order to harass, extort, threaten, or cause physical,
emotional, reputational, or economic harm to a person falsely
depicted, knowingly do either of the following:
(1) Create a fabricated sexual image with intent to
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distribute;
(2) Solicit the creation of a fabricated sexual image with
intent to distribute.
(E) This section does not prohibit the dissemination of an
image or fabricated sexual image if any of the following apply:
(1) The image or fabricated sexual image is disseminated
for the purpose of a criminal investigation that is otherwise
lawful.
(2) The image or fabricated sexual image is disseminated
for the purpose of, or in connection with, the reporting of
unlawful conduct.
(3) The image or fabricated sexual image is part of a news
report or commentary or an artistic or expressive work, such as
a performance, work of art, literary work, theatrical work,
musical work, motion picture, film, or audiovisual work.
(4) The image or fabricated sexual image is disseminated
by a law enforcement officer, or a corrections officer or guard
in a detention facility, acting within the scope of the person's
official duties.
(5) The image or fabricated sexual image is disseminated
for another lawful public purpose.
(6) The If the person in the image or fabricated sexual
image is eighteen years of age or older, the person in the image
or fabricated sexual image is knowingly and willingly in a state
of nudity or engaged in a sexual act and is knowingly and
willingly in a location in which the person does not have a
reasonable expectation of privacy.
(7) The image or fabricated sexual image is disseminated
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for the purpose of medical treatment or examination.
(D) (F) The following entities are not liable for a
violation of this section solely as a result of an image or
fabricated sexual image or other information provided by another
person:
(1) A provider of interactive computer service;
(2) A mobile service;
(3) A telecommunications carrier;
(4) An internet provider;
(5) A cable service provider;
(6) A direct-to-home satellite service;
(7) A video service provider.
(E) (G) Any conduct that is a violation of this section
and any other section of the Revised Code may be prosecuted
under this section, the other section, or both sections.
(F)(1)(a) (H)(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in
division (F)(1)(b), (c), or (d) (H)(1)(b) of this section,
whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of
nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, a
misdemeanor felony of the third fifth degree.
(b) If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to a violation of division (B) of this section, a
sexually oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense,
nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images is a
misdemeanor felony of the second fourth degree.
(c) If the offender previously has been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to two or more violations of this section,
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nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images is a
misdemeanor of the first degree.
(d) If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the
person in the image is not more than five years older than the
offender, the offender shall not be prosecuted under this
section.
(2) (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(2)
(b) of this section, whoever violates division (C) of this
section is guilty of nonconsensual dissemination of fabricated
sexual images, a felony of the fourth degree.
(b) If the offender has previously been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to a violation of this section, a sexually
oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense,
nonconsensual dissemination of fabricated sexual images is a
felony of the third degree.
(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(3)(b)
of this section, whoever violates division (D) of this section
is guilty of nonconsensual creation of fabricated sexual images,
a felony of the fourth degree.
(b) If the offender has previously been convicted of or
pleaded guilty to a violation of this section, a sexually
oriented offense, or a child-victim oriented offense,
nonconsensual creation of fabricated sexual images is a felony
of the third degree.
(4) In addition to any other penalty or disposition
authorized or required by law, the court may order any person
who is convicted of a violation of this section or who is
adjudicated delinquent by reason of a violation of this section
to criminally forfeit all of the following property to the state
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under Chapter 2981. of the Revised Code:
(a) Any profits or proceeds and any property the person
has acquired or maintained in violation of this section that the
sentencing court determines to have been acquired or maintained
as a result of the violation;
(b) Any interest in, securities of, claim against, or
property or contractual right of any kind affording a source of
influence over any enterprise that the person has established,
operated, controlled, or conducted in violation of this section
that the sentencing court determines to have been acquired or
maintained as a result of the violation.
(G) (I) A victim of a violation of this section may
commence a civil cause of action against the offender, as
described in section 2307.66 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2981.02. (A)(1) The following property is subject to
forfeiture to the state or a political subdivision under either
the criminal or delinquency process in section 2981.04 of the
Revised Code or the civil process in section 2981.05 of the
Revised Code:
(a) Contraband involved in an offense;
(b) Proceeds derived from or acquired through the
commission of an offense;
(c) An instrumentality that is used in or intended to be
used in the commission or facilitation of any of the following
offenses when the use or intended use, consistent with division
(B) of this section, is sufficient to warrant forfeiture under
this chapter:
(i) A felony;
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(ii) A misdemeanor, when forfeiture is specifically
authorized by a section of the Revised Code or by a municipal
ordinance that creates the offense or sets forth its penalties;
(iii) An attempt to commit, complicity in committing, or a
conspiracy to commit an offense of the type described in
divisions (A)(3)(a) and (b) of this section.
(2) In determining whether an alleged instrumentality was
used in or was intended to be used in the commission or
facilitation of an offense or an attempt, complicity, or
conspiracy to commit an offense in a manner sufficient to
warrant its forfeiture, the trier of fact shall consider the
following factors the trier of fact determines are relevant:
(a) Whether the offense could not have been committed or
attempted but for the presence of the instrumentality;
(b) Whether the primary purpose in using the
instrumentality was to commit or attempt to commit the offense;
(c) The extent to which the instrumentality furthered the
commission of, or attempt to commit, the offense.
(B) The property described in division (F)(2) (H)(4) of
section 2917.211 of the Revised Code is subject to forfeiture
under the criminal or delinquency process in section 2981.04 of
the Revised Code, if the forfeiture is ordered by the court
imposing sentence or an order of disposition.
(C) This chapter does not apply to or limit forfeitures
under Title XLV of the Revised Code, including forfeitures
relating to section 2903.06 or 2903.08 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 2307.66, 2917.211, and
2981.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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Section 3. This act shall be known as the Innocence Act.
Section 4. The provisions of law contained in this act,
and their applications, are severable. If any provision of law
contained in this act, or if any application of any provision of
law contained in this act, is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions of law contained in this act and
their applications that can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application.
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475
476