Protect Act US S 5129

This bill creates a new federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2257B) requiring "covered platforms" — websites and apps that primarily host user-generated content or intimate images — to verify that every user is at least 18, and that everyone shown in an image was 18 or older when it was made and gave written consent both to the specific acts depicted and to the image being distributed. Consent must be documented on an Attorney General-approved form covering identity, age, scope of consent, location and medium, duration, the specific acts shown, and language on coerced consent and the right to withdraw it; platforms must use real verification methods, like access codes or digital certificates, rather than simple self-declaration. Individuals are also barred from uploading porn images without the subject's consent.

Violations carry civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day per image, enforceable by the Attorney General or through private lawsuits, plus criminal penalties ranging from up to five years for a first offense to two to ten years for repeat offenses.

The bill leaves existing obscenity law and Section 230 protections intact, strengthens the TAKE IT DOWN Act by requiring platforms to prevent reuploads (not just remove content), and its verification requirements take effect 90 days after enactment, applying to images uploaded before, on, or after that date.