California 2019-2020 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 798 — Unsolicited lewd images.

Last action — Re-referred to Coms. on JUD. and APPR.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2019-2020 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law creates a private right of action against a person who intentionally distributes a photograph or recorded image of another that exposes the intimate body parts, as defined, of that person without their consent, knowing that the other person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private, if specified conditions are met. Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor for a person, with intent to annoy, to make contact with another person by means of an electronic communication device and to address to or about the other person any obscene language or threat to inflict injury. This bill, entitled the Preventing Indecent Content Sharing (PICS) Act, would establish a private cause of action against a person who knowingly transmits or shares a lewd image by electronic means if the transmission or sending of that image was not at the request of, or expressly consented to by, the plaintiff and the plaintiff can demonstrate that the image they received was lewd, there was clear intent by the defendant that the plaintiff receive the image, and that there was no, or only a limited, relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. The bill would authorize a plaintiff to be awarded statutory damages between $500 and $5,000 and reasonable attorney's fees.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Re-referred to Coms. on JUD. and APPR.

  2. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  3. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  4. From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 6.

  5. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Chang · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Chang

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 798 do?
Existing law creates a private right of action against a person who intentionally distributes a photograph or recorded image of another that exposes the intimate body parts, as defined, of that person without their consent, knowing that the other person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private, if specified conditions are met. Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor for a person, with intent to annoy, to make contact with another person by means of an electronic communication device and to address to or about the other person any obscene language or threat to inflict injury. This bill, entitled the Preventing Indecent Content Sharing (PICS) Act, would establish a private cause of action against a person who knowingly transmits or shares a lewd image by electronic means if the transmission or sending of that image was not at the request of, or expressly consented to by, the plaintiff and the plaintiff can demonstrate that the image they received was lewd, there was clear intent by the defendant that the plaintiff receive the image, and that there was no, or only a limited, relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. The bill would authorize a plaintiff to be awarded statutory damages between $500 and $5,000 and reasonable attorney's fees.
Who sponsors SB 798?
SB 798 is sponsored by Chang.
What is the current status of SB 798?
This bill died with 2019-2020 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 798?
Track SB 798 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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