HONOR Act
The HONOR Act (Halting Online Nonconsensual Offenses in the Ranks Act) would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to expand the prohibition on wrongful broadcast, distribution, or publication of intimate visual images. It adds criminal liability for service members who knowingly publish authentic intimate images (or digital forgeries) of identifiable individuals without consent, when certain privacy and public-interest conditions are met, and when the act is intended to cause harm or actually harms the person depicted. The bill also creates detailed definitions (including “digital forgery”) and lays out specified exceptions (e.g., lawful investigations, medical or educational purposes, or to seek help). The punishment would be determined by a court-martial. In short, it broadens military protections against nonconsensual intimate imagery and digital fakes, with a particular focus on preventing harm to identifiable individuals within the armed forces.
Key Points
- 1Expands Article 117a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to criminalize wrongful broadcasting, distribution, or publication of intimate visual images and digital forgeries involving identifiable individuals, including both adults and minors, when the imagery is non-consensual and harmful.
- 2Requires specific conditions for the offense, including privacy expectations, lack of consent, non-public nature, not a matter of public concern, and a causal or intended-harm standard.
- 3Extends to digital forgeries (AI- or software-generated alterations that are indistinguishable from authentic images) of identifiable individuals, under the same non-consensual and harm-focused criteria.
- 4Provides enumerated exceptions, such as protective or investigative activities, disclosures in legal or medical contexts, or to seek support, and allows disclosures intended to assist the depicted individual.
- 5Clarifies that consent to creation does not imply consent to disclosure, and that voluntary self-exposure or disclosure by the depicted person does not automatically authorize further distribution.
- 6Establishes that violations are punishable under court-martial authority (i.e., subject to military discipline and penalties).