Tuesday marked a victory for victims of revenge porn in California. Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 255 which criminalizes revenge porn. California joins New Jersey as the only states to prohibit such activity.
Revenge porn is the term used when pictures or other content are posted online from a failed relationship in order to hurt, defame or humiliate the other person. With social media growing in popularity revenge porn has become all too familiar and can cause serious emotional distress to those victims.
One woman’s fight against revenge porn began when pictures of her were posted on Facebook by an ex-boyfriend and immediately went viral. Without ample laws to deal with the over 200 websites she was featured on she founded endrevengeporn.com that works to criminalize the act across the country.
Another tragic story to call attention to the issue is that of a California teen Audrie Pott, who committed suicide after nude pictures of her were distributed around school following an alleged sexual assault while she was passed out.
The bill makes the offense a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. An excerpt from the bill reads as follows.
“Any person who photographs or records by any means the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, under circumstances where the parties agree or understand that the image shall remain private, and the person subsequently distributes the image taken, with the intent to cause serious emotional distress, and the depicted person suffers serious emotional distress.”
Senate Bill 255 was passed under the urgency measure which is described as “A bill affecting the public peace, health, or safety and requiring a two-thirds vote for passage. An urgency bill becomes effective immediately upon enactment.”
Online just got a little safer for those in California. The hope is the rest of the country will soon follow.
