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H.R. 5090House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

HONOR Act

Sponsored by Nancy MaceRep. Nancy Mace (R-SC)
Introduced September 2, 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 10:17 PM UTC

The HONOR Act amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to criminalize the non‑consensual broadcast, distribution, or publication of intimate visual images—including AI‑generated forgeries—by service members. It targets both adults and minors, focusing on situations where the depicted person expected privacy and suffers harm. The bill also provides detailed definitions, clarifies consent rules, and outlines narrow exceptions for lawful or protective disclosures.

Key Provisions

  • Adds new prohibited conduct for service members who knowingly broadcast, distribute, or publish authentic intimate images of non‑minors when the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, without consent, and with intent to cause or actual psychological, financial, or reputational harm.
  • Makes it a punishable offense to share authentic intimate images of minors with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or satisfy sexual desire.
  • Extends the prohibition to digital forgeries—computer‑generated or AI‑altered intimate images—of both adults and minors under the same consent and harm requirements.
  • Defines key terms such as “consent,” “digital forgery,” “identifiable individual,” and “intimate visual depiction” to clarify what conduct is covered.
  • Specifies that consent to create an image does not imply consent to share it, and that sharing a privately disclosed image does not constitute consent for further distribution.
  • Lists limited exceptions for lawful investigative, protective, intelligence, medical, legal, or self‑published uses, and for disclosures made in good faith to assist the depicted individual.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Armed Services Committee

September 2, 2025

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

September 2, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Armed Services Committee

September 2, 2025

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued September 2, 2025

I

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 5090

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 2, 2025

Ms. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to expand prohibitions against the wrongful broadcast, distribution, or publication of intimate visual images, including digital forgeries, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Halting Online Nonconsensual Offenses in the Ranks Act or the HONOR Act.

2.

Modifications to offense of wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images under the uniform code of military justice

Section 917a of title 10, united states code (article 117a of the uniform code of military justice) is amended to read as follows:

917a.

Art. 117a. Wrongful broadcast, distribution, or publication of intimate visual images

(a)

Prohibition

Any person subject to this chapter—

(1)

who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a communication service to publish an authentic intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual who is not a minor if—

(A)

the intimate visual depiction was obtained or created under circumstances in which the person knew or reasonably should have known the identifiable individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy;

(B)

the authentic intimate visual depiction was broadcast, distributed, or published without the consent of the identifiable individual;

(C)

what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed by the identifiable individual in a public or commercial setting;

(D)

what is depicted is not a matter of public concern; and

(E)

the broadcast, distribution, or publication of the intimate visual depiction—

(i)

is intended to cause harm; or

(ii)

causes harm, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, to the identifiable individual;

(2)

who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a communication service to publish an authentic intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual who is a minor with intent to—

(A)

abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the minor; or

(B)

arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person;

(3)

who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a communication service to publish a digital forgery of an identifiable individual who is not a minor if—

(A)

the digital forgery was broadcast, distributed, or published without the consent of the identifiable individual;

(B)

what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed by the identifiable individual in a public or commercial setting;

(C)

what is depicted is not a matter of public concern; and

(D)

the broadcast, distribution, or publication of the digital forgery—

(i)

is intended to cause harm; or

(ii)

causes harm, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, to the identifiable individual; or

(4)

who knowingly broadcasts, distributes, or uses a communication service to publish a digital forgery of an identifiable individual who is a minor with intent to—

(A)

abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the minor; or

(B)

arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person,

is guilty of wrongful distribution of intimate visual images or visual images of sexually explicit conduct and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
(b)

Exceptions

Subsection (a) shall not apply to—

(1)

a lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of—

(A)

a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State; or

(B)

an intelligence agency of the United States;

(2)

a disclosure made reasonably and in good faith—

(A)

to a law enforcement officer or agency;

(B)

as part of a document production or filing associated with a legal proceeding;

(C)

as part of medical education, diagnosis, or treatment or for a legitimate medical, scientific, or educational purpose;

(D)

in the reporting of unlawful content or unsolicited or unwelcome conduct or in pursuance of a legal, professional, or other lawful obligation; or

(E)

to seek support or help with respect to the receipt of an unsolicited intimate visual depiction;

(3)

a disclosure reasonably intended to assist the identifiable individual; or

(4)

a person who possesses or publishes an intimate visual depiction of himself or herself engaged in nudity or sexually explicit conduct.

(c)

Consent

For the purposes of subsection (a)—

(1)

the fact that the depicted individual consented to the creation of the intimate visual depiction shall not establish that the person consented to its disclosure; and

(2)

the fact that the depicted individual disclosed the intimate visual depiction to another person shall not establish that the depicted individual consented to the further disclosure of the intimate visual depiction.

(d)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Consent

The term consent means an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary authorization made by an individual free from force, fraud, duress, misrepresentation, or coercion.

(2)

Digital forgery

The term digital forgery means any intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual created through the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other computer-generated or technological means, including by adapting, modifying, manipulating, or altering an authentic visual depiction, that, when viewed as a whole by a reasonable person, is indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction of the individual.

(3)

Identifiable individual

The term identifiable individual means an individual—

(A)

who appears in whole or in part in an intimate visual depiction; and

(B)

whose face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic (including a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature) is displayed in connection with such intimate visual depiction.

(4)

Visual depiction

The term visual depiction includes undeveloped film and videotape, data stored on computer disk or by electronic means which is capable of conversion into a visual image, and data which is capable of conversion into a visual image that has been transmitted by any means, whether or not stored in a permanent format.

(5)

Intimate visual depiction

The term intimate visual depiction—

(A)

means a visual depiction that depicts—

(i)

the uncovered genitals, pubic area, anus, or female nipple of an identifiable individual; or

(ii)

the display or transfer of bodily sexual fluids—

(I)

on to any part of the body of an identifiable individual;

(II)

from the body of an identifiable individual; or

(iii)

an identifiable individual engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and

(B)

includes any visual depictions described in subparagraph (A) produced while the identifiable individual was in a public place only if the individual did not—

(i)

voluntarily display the content depicted; or

(ii)

consent to the sexual conduct depicted.

(6)

Sexually explicit conduct

The term sexually explicit conduct means actual or simulated—

(A)

sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;

(B)

bestiality;

(C)

masturbation;

(D)

sadistic or masochistic abuse; or

(E)

lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person.

(7)

Minor

The term minor means any individual under the age of 18 years.

(8)

Broadcast

The term broadcast means to electronically transmit a visual image with the intent that it be viewed by a person or persons.

(9)

Distribute

The term distribute means to deliver to the actual or constructive possession of another person, including transmission by mail or electronic means.

(10)

Communications service

The term communications service means—

(A)

a service provided by a person that is a common carrier;

(B)

an electronic communication service;

(C)

an information service; or

(D)

an interactive computer service.

(11)

Common carrier

The term common carrier means any person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio or interstate or foreign radio transmission of energy, but a person engaged in radio broadcasting shall not, insofar as such person is so engaged, be deemed a common carrier.

(12)

Electronic communication service

The term electronic communication service means any service which provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications.

(13)

Information service

The term information service means the offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing, transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making available information via telecommunications, and includes electronic publishing, but does not include any use of any such capability for the management, control, or operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a telecommunications service.

(14)

Interactive computer service

The term interactive computer service means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.

.