Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB235 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R15 JRR-D
2	2	By: Guillen H.B. No. 235
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to civil and criminal liability for the unlawful
10	10	disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 98B.002, Civil Practice and Remedies
13	13	Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection
14	14	(c) to read as follows:
15	15	(a) A defendant is liable, as provided by this chapter, to a
16	16	person depicted in intimate visual material for damages arising
17	17	from the disclosure of the material if:
18	18	(1) the defendant discloses the intimate visual
19	19	material without the effective consent of the depicted person and
20	20	with the intent to harm that person;
21	21	(2) either:
22	22	(A) at the time of the disclosure, the defendant
23	23	knows or has reason to believe that the intimate visual material was
24	24	obtained by the defendant or created under circumstances in which
25	25	the depicted person had a reasonable expectation that the material
26	26	would remain private; or
27	27	(B) the intimate visual material was created,
28	28	adapted, or modified as described by Subsection (c);
29	29	(3) the disclosure of the intimate visual material
30	30	causes harm to the depicted person; and
31	31	(4) the disclosure of the intimate visual material
32	32	reveals the identity of the depicted person in any manner,
33	33	including through:
34	34	(A) any accompanying or subsequent information
35	35	or material related to the intimate visual material; or
36	36	(B) information or material provided by a third
37	37	party in response to the disclosure of the intimate visual
38	38	material.
39	39	(c) For purposes of conduct for which a defendant is liable
40	40	under Subsection (a) or (b), intimate visual material to which that
41	41	conduct applies includes a depiction of a person:
42	42	(1) who is recognizable as an actual person by the
43	43	person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic,
44	44	such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and
45	45	(2) whose image was used in creating, adapting, or
46	46	modifying the intimate visual material, including
47	47	computer-generated intimate visual material that was created,
48	48	adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence application
49	49	or other computer software.
50	50	SECTION 2. Section 21.16, Penal Code, is amended by
51	51	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as
52	52	follows:
53	53	(b) A person commits an offense if:
54	54	(1) without the effective consent of the depicted
55	55	person and with the intent to harm that person, the person discloses
56	56	visual material depicting another person with the person's intimate
57	57	parts exposed or engaged in sexual conduct;
58	58	(2) either:
59	59	(A) at the time of the disclosure, the person
60	60	knows or has reason to believe that the visual material was obtained
61	61	by the person or created under circumstances in which the depicted
62	62	person had a reasonable expectation that the visual material would
63	63	remain private; or
64	64	(B) the visual material was created, adapted, or
65	65	modified as described by Subsection (d-1);
66	66	(3) the disclosure of the visual material causes harm
67	67	to the depicted person; and
68	68	(4) the disclosure of the visual material reveals the
69	69	identity of the depicted person in any manner, including through:
70	70	(A) any accompanying or subsequent information
71	71	or material related to the visual material; or
72	72	(B) information or material provided by a third
73	73	party in response to the disclosure of the visual material.
74	74	(d-1) For purposes of conduct prohibited under Subsection
75	75	(b), (c), or (d), visual material to which that conduct applies
76	76	includes a depiction of a person:
77	77	(1) who is recognizable as an actual person by the
78	78	person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic,
79	79	such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and
80	80	(2) whose image was used in creating, adapting, or
81	81	modifying the visual material, including computer-generated visual
82	82	material that was created, adapted, or modified using an artificial
83	83	intelligence application or other computer software.
84	84	SECTION 3. (a) Section 98B.002, Civil Practice and
85	85	Remedies Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of
86	86	action that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. A
87	87	cause of action that accrues before the effective date of this Act
88	88	is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action immediately
89	89	before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
90	90	effect for that purpose.
91	91	(b) Section 21.16, Penal Code, as amended by this Act,
92	92	applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date
93	93	of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this
94	94	Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
95	95	committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
96	96	purpose. For purposes of this subsection, an offense was committed
97	97	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
98	98	was committed before that date.
99	99	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.