Amendment ID: S3164-1

Amendment 1

Digital and Social Media Child Sexual Abuse Material Protection

Mr. Mark, Ms. Comerford, Mr. Moore and Ms. Edwards move that the proposed new draft be amended by adding after section 5 the following section:-

"SECTION XX. (a) Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended in Section 31 by inserting after the word “have the following meanings:—” the following text: -“

“Child Sexual Abuse Visual Material”, any visual material including, but not limited to, any photograph, film, video, picture, digital image, or computer-generated image depicting sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or a minor in a state of nudity or partial nudity that has been created, adapted, modified, reproduced, altered, generated, or manipulated using synthetic media technologies, including any computational, algorithmic, or digitally simulated method capable of producing or altering visual depictions of a person in a manner that would falsely appear to a reasonable person to be, or include, a representation of a minor.

"Digitization", the creation, adaptation, modification, reproduction, alteration, or generation of visual material, using synthetic media technologies, including any computational, algorithmic, or digitally simulated method capable of producing or altering visual depictions of a person, in a manner that would appear to a reasonable person to depict a minor.”".

(b) Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended in Section 31 by inserting after the words ““'Visual material'', any motion picture film, picture, photograph, videotape, book, magazine, pamphlet that contains pictures, photographs or similar visual representations or reproductions, or depiction by computer, telephone or any other device capable of electronic data storage or transmission. Undeveloped photographs, pictures, motion picture films, videotapes and similar visual representations or reproductions may be visual materials notwithstanding that processing, development or similar acts may be required to make the contents thereof apparent.”, the following text :- “The term 'visual material' shall include visual material produced, altered, adapted, modified, or generated through digitization.”.

(c) Chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 29D the following section:

 Section 29E. (a) Whoever, either with knowledge that a person is a minor or while in possession of such facts giving reason to know that such person is a minor, and with lascivious intent, creates child sexual abuse visual material shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2½ years, or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or by a fine of not less than $10,000 nor more than $50,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

 (b) For the purposes of this section, the determination of whether the child in any child sexual abuse visual material prohibited hereunder is a minor may be made by: (i) the personal testimony of the child, (ii) the testimony of a person who produced, processed, published, printed or manufactured such child sexual abuse visual material that the child in the material was known by the person to be a minor, (iii) testimony of a person who observed the visual material, or (iv) expert medical testimony as to the age of the child based upon the child's physical appearance, by inspection of the visual material or by any other method authorized by any general or special law or by any applicable rule of evidence.

(d) The definition of "Child sexual abuse visual material" inserted by subsection (a) of this section shall apply to sections 29C, 29D, and 29E of chapter 272 of the General Laws.