While 38 states now have laws against sharing revenge porn, the United States has yet to federally criminalize the act. However, a bipartisan bill aims to change that.
On Tuesday, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn), and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), with Rep. Jackie Speier (D.-Calif.) introduced the Ending Nonconsensual Online User Graphic Harassment (ENOUGH) Act of 2017.
According to TechCrunch, the ENOUGH Act would establish tools allowing the Department of Justice to address revenge porn and criminalize people who share revenge porn, otherwise known as nonconsensual pornography used to extort or harm the subject in the images or videos.
Under the ENOUGH Act, prosecution would require proving that the perpetrator knew the victim had expected the shared content to remain private and that sharing the content would do harm to the victim. The perpetrator must also not have an objective reason to believe that the content is a matter of public concern. Those found guilty under the bill would face a fine and/or up to five years in prison.
The law wouldn’t apply to lawful law enforcement, correctional, and intelligence activity; nor to communications service providers sharing content provided by another provider. However, it would apply to anyone who threatens to share, or extorts someone with, nonconsensual pornography.
The ENOUGH Act follows Rep. Speier’s attempt to pass the Intimate Privacy Protection Act, H.R. 5896, in 2016. However, the measure stalled in Congress. Across the U.S., Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wyoming are the 12 states yet to pass revenge porn legislation. The Navy and Marines made revenge porn distribution illegal after nonconsensual naked photos of female Marines were shared through Facebook groups and file sharing drives earlier this year.
“Even in states that have laws on the books, the average person can’t afford to take on these predators in civil courts,” Speier said in a statement. “Worse are the numerous victims who have mustered the courage and strength to pursue criminal charges, only to learn there is no law that protects them. The ENOUGH Act will fix this gaping hole in our legal system.”
H/T TechCrunch
