Creates Civil Liability for Unsolicited Intimate Images Act
Illinois Legislative Events
Summary
Illinois House passed HB1590, creating the Civil Liability for Unsolicited Intimate Images Act. The bill establishes that any person 18+ who knowingly transmits obscene material via electronic means without consent commits a trespass and is liable for actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. The court may also enjoin further violations.
What changed
HB1590 creates a new civil cause of action for recipients of unsolicited obscene material transmitted electronically without consent. Violators commit a trespass and face liability for actual damages or $500 minimum, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. The bill defines obscene material using contemporary statewide standards and includes exceptions for ISPs, streaming services, healthcare providers, and commercial email.
Affected parties include individuals who receive such material (who gain a new right to sue) and those who transmit it (who face new civil exposure). Healthcare providers transmitting material for legitimate medical purposes and internet service providers are explicitly exempted. Venue lies where the material was transmitted from or received.
What to do next
- Monitor HB1590 progress through Illinois Senate
- Individuals should understand new civil liability for unsolicited obscene transmissions
- Legal professionals should prepare for potential litigation under this new cause of action
Penalties
$500 minimum or actual damages (whichever is greater), plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Court may issue injunctions restraining further violations.
Archived snapshot
Apr 10, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
ChangeBridge / Illinois / HB1590 Passed HB1590 House Bill Passed 2026-04-09
LIABILITY-UNSOLICITED IMAGES
Creates the Civil Liability for Unsolicited Intimate Images Act. Provides that any person 18 years of age or older who knowingly and intentionally transmits obscene material by computer or other electronic means to the computer or electronic communication device of another person 18 years of age or older commits a trespass and is liable to the recipient of the obscene material for actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, in addition to reasonable attorney's fees and costs, if the person who receives the obscene material has not consented to the receipt of the obscene material or has expressly forbidden the receipt of the obscene material and if a reasonable person who receives the obscene material would suffer emotional distress as a result of the receipt of the obscene material. Authorizes the court to enjoin and restrain the defendant from committing such further acts. Provides that "obscene material" means material, including, but not limited to, images depicting a person engaging in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or masturbation, or depicting the exposed genitals or anus of any person, taken as a whole, that to the average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interest, that, taken as a whole, depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and that, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Provides that the Act does not apply to (i) any Internet service provider, mobile data provider, or operator of an online or mobile application, to the extent that such entity is transmitting, routing, or providing connections for electronic communications initiated by or at the direction of another, (ii) any service that transmits material, including an on-demand, subscription, or advertising-supported service, (iii) a health care provider that transmits material for a legitimate medical purpose, or (iv) any transmission of commercial email. Provides that venue for an action under the Act may lie in the jurisdiction where the obscene material is transmitted from or where the obscene material is received or possessed by the plaintiff.
Bill Details
State Illinois
Session 104th General Assembly
Chamber House
Official Source www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum...
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Anne Stava-Murray (Rep - D)
Action History
2026-04-09 H Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 096-004-000 2026-04-08 H Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate 2026-04-08 H Second Reading - Short Debate 2026-03-19 H Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate 2026-03-19 H Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary - Civil Committee; 020-000-000 2026-03-12 H Assigned to Judiciary - Civil Committee 2025-03-21 H Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee 2025-03-12 H To Civil Procedure & Tort Liability Subcommittee 2025-02-18 H Assigned to Judiciary - Civil Committee 2025-01-28 H Referred to Rules Committee 2025-01-28 H First Reading 2025-01-22 H Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Anne Stava
Committee Referrals
2025-01-28 H Rules 2025-02-18 H Judiciary - Civil 2025-03-12 H Civil Procedure & Tort Liability Subcommittee 2025-03-21 H Rules 2026-03-12 H Judiciary - Civil
Bill Text Versions
2025-01-22 Introduced 2026-04-08 Engrossed Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
Named provisions
Related changes
Get daily alerts for Illinois Legislative Events
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from IL House.
The plain-English summary, classification, and "what to do next" steps are AI-generated from the original text. Cite the source document, not the AI analysis.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Illinois Legislative Events publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.