SIMS Act

This Act may be cited as the “Stopping Illegal Minor Simulations Act” or the “SIMS Act”.

(a) In general.— Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“2260B. Prohibition on minor-simulating chatbots that engage in sexually explicit conduct or sexually explicit conversation.—

(a) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) Chatbot.— The term chatbot means any interactive computer service (as defined in section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230)) or software application that—

(A) is designed to simulate interactive conversation with human users, especially over the internet, that mimics human-like communication characteristics, including emotions and intentions;

(B) produces new expressive content or responses not fully predetermined by the developer or operator of the service or application; and

(C) accepts open-ended natural-language or multimodal user input and produces adaptive or context-responsive output.

(2) Covered entity.— The term covered entity means any person that owns or operates a chatbot made available to individuals in the United States.

(3) Minor.— The term minor means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age.

(4) Sexually explicit conduct.— The term sexually explicit conduct has the meaning given the term in section 2256.

(5) Sexually explicit conversation.— The term sexually explicit conversation means any interactive verbal or visual communication, in speech, image, or text, that simulates sexually explicit conduct.

(b) Offense.—

(1) In general.— Subject to paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for a covered entity to make available to human users a chatbot that is designed to simulate (through text, audio, visual, or other means) a minor engaged in interactive sexually explicit conduct or an interactive sexually explicit conversation with a human user, when such conduct or conversation—

(A) is obscene; and

(B) constitutes conduct that would violate any criminal law applicable in the relevant jurisdiction.

(2) Exemption.— The Attorney General may, upon request, provide an exemption from the prohibition under paragraph (1) for the limited purpose of law enforcement investigation activities to the following entities:

(A) A Federal law enforcement agency that is involved in the investigation of child sexual exploitation.

(B) A State or local law enforcement agency that is involved in the investigation of child sexual exploitation.

(C) A foreign law enforcement agency that—

(i)

(I) is designated by the Attorney General or a foreign law enforcement agency; or

(II) has an established relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation or INTERPOL; and

(ii) is involved in the investigation of child sexual exploitation.

(3) Rule of construction.— Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed to—

(A) prohibit internal or external research, red-teaming, or other evaluation, or publication of the results thereof, designed to assess whether a chatbot violates the prohibition under that paragraph;

(B) create liability for a user of a chatbot described in that paragraph who is not a covered entity; or

(C) depart from the standard under the Constitution of the United States applied in determining the meaning of the term obscene.

(4) Nonrequired element of offense.— It is not a required element of the offense under paragraph (1) that the minor simulated actually exist.

(c) Criminal penalty.— Any person who willfully violates subsection (b) shall be fined not more than $100,000.

(d) Civil enforcement.—

(1) In general.— In the case of a violation of subsection (b) or a regulation promulgated thereunder, the Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States to—

(A) enjoin the violation;

(B) enforce compliance with subsection (b) or the regulation promulgated thereunder; or

(C) obtain civil penalties under paragraph (3) of this subsection, restitution, and other appropriate relief.

(2) Attorney General powers.—

(A) Investigatory powers.— For the purpose of conducting investigations or bringing enforcement actions under this subsection, the Attorney General may issue subpoenas, administer oaths, and compel the production of documents or testimony.

(B) Rulemaking.— The Attorney General may promulgate any regulations necessary to carry out this section.

(3) Civil penalties.— Any person who violates subsection (b) or a regulation promulgated thereunder shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 for each violation.

(e) Annual report.— The Attorney General shall submit an annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that details, for the period covered by the report—

(1) the number of persons convicted under this section, disaggregated by individuals and corporations;

(2) the number of criminal penalties or civil penalties imposed under this section;

(3) the number of criminal or civil proceedings initiated for a violation of this section;

(4) the number of law enforcement investigations into potential violations of this section that were conducted using chatbots described in subsection (b)(1); and

(5) any other information the Attorney General considers relevant to include.”.

(b) Technical and conforming amendment.— The table of sections for chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

(c) Effective date.— The amendments made by this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.