Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Hawaii State Legislature, fetched 2026-08-29. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official page appears here in brackets. This is the first conference draft. The official bill page.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B. NO. 1682 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D. 1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D. 2 C.D. 1 A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INTIMATE IMAGES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows: "Chapter civil remedies for unauthorized disclosure of INTIMATE images § -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter: "Consent" means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary authorization by an individual with legal capacity to give authorization. "Depicted individual" means an individual whose body is shown in whole or in part in an intimate image. "Depicted individual" includes a deceased individual. "Disclosure" means transfer, publication, or distribution to another person. "Disclose" has a corresponding meaning. "Harm" includes physical harm, economic harm, and emotional distress whether or not accompanied by physical or economic harm. "Identifiable" means recognizable by a person other than the depicted individual: (1) From an intimate image itself; or (2) From an intimate image and identifying characteristic displayed in connection with the intimate image. "Identifying characteristic" means information that may be used to identify a depicted individual. "Individual" means a natural person. "Intimate image" means any digital image, photograph, live or recorded video, or computer-generated image or video that depicts an individual in a state of undress; in the nude as defined in section 712-1210; or engaged in sexual conduct. "Person" means an individual; estate; business or nonprofit entity; public corporation; government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or other legal entity. "Private" means: (1) Created or obtained under circumstances in which a depicted individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy; or (2) Made accessible through theft, bribery, extortion, fraud, false pretenses, voyeurism, or exceeding authorized access to an account, message, file, device, resource, or property. "Sexual conduct" has the same meaning as in section 712‑1210. § -2 Disclosure of intimate images; civil action. (a) Except as otherwise provided in section -3, a depicted individual who is identifiable and who suffers harm from a person's intentional disclosure or threatened disclosure of a private intimate image without the depicted individual's consent has a cause of action against the person if the person knew or reasonably should have known that the depicted individual had a reasonable expectation that the intimate image would remain private. (b) The following conduct by a depicted individual shall not establish by itself that the depicted individual consented to the disclosure of the intimate image that is the subject of an action under this chapter or that the depicted individual lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy: (1) Consent to creation of the image; or (2) Previous consensual disclosure of the image. (c) A depicted individual who does not consent to the sexual conduct or uncovering of the part of the body depicted in an intimate image of the individual shall retain a reasonable expectation of privacy even if the image was created when the individual was in a public place. § -3 Liability; exceptions. (a) A person shall not be liable under this chapter if the person proves that disclosure of, or a threat to disclose, an intimate image was: (1) Made in good faith as part of: (A) Law enforcement activity; (B) A legal proceeding; or (C) Medical education or treatment; (2) Made in good faith in the reporting or investigation of: (A) Unlawful conduct; or (B) Unsolicited and unwelcome conduct; (3) Related to a matter of public concern or public interest; or (4) Reasonably intended to assist the depicted individual. (b) Subject to subsection (c), a defendant who is a parent, legal guardian, or individual with legal custody of a child shall not be liable under this chapter for a disclosure or threatened disclosure of an intimate image of the child. (c) If a defendant asserts an exception to liability under subsection (b), the exception shall not apply if the plaintiff proves the disclosure was: (1) Prohibited by law other than as provided in this chapter; or (2) Made for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, humiliation, degradation, or monetary or commercial gain. (d) Disclosure of, or a threat to disclose, an intimate image shall not be a matter of public concern or public interest solely because the depicted individual is a public figure. (e) As used in this section: "Child" means an unemancipated individual who is under eighteen years of age. "Parent" means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a grandparent, or a grandparent-in-law. § -4 Plaintiff's privacy. In an action under this chapter: (1) The court may exclude or redact other identifying characteristics of the plaintiff from all pleadings and documents filed, under applicable state law or procedural rule; (2) A plaintiff to whom paragraph (1) applies shall file with the court and serve on the defendant a confidential information form that includes the excluded or redacted plaintiff's name and other identifying characteristics; and (3) The court may make further orders as necessary to protect the identity and privacy of a plaintiff. § -5 Disclosure of intimate images; civil remedies. (a) In an action under this chapter, a prevailing plaintiff may recover: (1) The greater of: (A) Economic and noneconomic damages proximately caused by the defendant's disclosure or threatened disclosure, including damages for emotional distress whether or not accompanied by other damages; or (B) Statutory damages not to exceed $10,000 against each defendant found liable under this chapter for all disclosures and threatened disclosures by the defendant of which the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known when filing the action or which became known during the pendency of the action; provided that in determining the amount of statutory damages under this subparagraph, consideration shall be given to the age of the parties at the time of the disclosure or threatened disclosure, the number of disclosures or threatened disclosures made by the defendant, the breadth of the distribution of the intimate image by the defendant, and other exacerbating or mitigating factors; (2) An amount equal to any monetary gain made by the defendant from disclosure of the intimate image; (3) An amount equal to any actual costs incurred by the plaintiff in retrieving and requesting removal of distributed intimate images; and (4) Punitive damages as allowed under any state law other than as provided in this chapter. (b) In an action under this chapter, the court shall order a non-prevailing defendant to: (1) Cease and desist from further disclosing the intimate image; (2) Destroy or delete, or return to the prevailing plaintiff, the original and all copies of the intimate image in the defendant's possession, custody, or control; and (3) Identify all persons to whom the defendant disclosed the intimate image. (c) In an action under this chapter, the court may award a prevailing plaintiff: (1) Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs; and (2) Additional relief, including injunctive relief. (d) This chapter shall not affect a right or remedy available under any state law other than as provided in this chapter. § -6 Statute of limitations. (a) An action brought by a depicted individual under section -2(a) for unauthorized disclosure, where the depicted individual was an adult on the date of disclosure, shall not be brought later than eight years from the date the disclosure was discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise of reasonable diligence. (b) An action brought by a depicted individual under section -2(a) for a threat to disclose, where the depicted individual was an adult on the date of the threat to disclose, shall not be brought later than eight years from the date of the threat to disclose. (c) Subject to section 657-1.8(a)(2), an action brought by a depicted individual under section -2(a), where the depicted individual was a minor on the date of the disclosure or threat to disclose, shall not be brought later than: (1) Thirty-two years after the eighteenth birthday of the depicted individual; or (2) Five years after the date the depicted individual discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the depicted individual's eighteenth birthday was caused by the unauthorized disclosure, whichever occurs later. § -7 Deceased depicted individuals; rights. (a) For a depicted individual who is deceased, or upon the death of a depicted individual, all rights of the depicted individual under this chapter shall vest in the estate of the deceased depicted individual. (b) The rights vested in the estate pursuant to subsection (a) may be exercised by the personal representative of the estate in accordance with chapter 560. (c) If no personal representative has been appointed, any person authorized under chapter 560 to petition for appointment of a personal representative may petition the court for appointment for the limited purpose of exercising the rights under this chapter. § -8 Construction. (a) This chapter shall be construed to be consistent with the Communications Decency Act of 1996, title 47 United States Code section 230. (b) This chapter shall not be construed to alter the law on sovereign immunity. § -9 Severability. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable." SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date. SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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