"Revenge Porn" is now Illegal In PA

The digital revolution of the past decade has brought many innovations and conveniences to our daily lives. Smartphones and tablet computers have changed the way we interact as a culture, which is both a blessing and a curse.

But for all of the positives these gadgets bring, there are real problems that need to be addressed. The biggest downside of living in a brave new digital world is the concern over our privacy. With smartphones and social media, you can snap a photo and instantly send it out for the world to see. And once it’s out there, odds are you can never get it completely back.

Far worse is when photos or videos you never intended anyone to see make their way onto the internet, especially those of a sexual nature. The phenomenon of releasing intimate photos and videos of someone by their partner when the relationship goes bad is known as “revenge porn”. The intention is obvious- to get revenge on someone they had previously trusted through embarrassment and humiliation. Although people may not want to discuss it publicly, it’s a real problem that isn’t going away.

Fortunately there are some new laws we recently passed in the Legislature to address the problem of revenge porn. Act 115 of 2014, which I supported and voted for, specifically makes it a criminal offense to unlawfully disseminate an intimate image with the intent to harass, annoy or alarm a current or former sexual or intimate partner.

An “intimate image” is defined as an image showing the victim in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct. Disseminating an intimate image would include posting online to a website, emailing, texting or sharing via social media like Facebook or Twitter.

Violation of the law is a misdemeanor of the first degree if the victim is a minor and a misdemeanor of the second degree if the victim is not a minor. Obviously if an adult were to send pictures of a victim who was a minor, child pornography laws may come into play as well, but this offense would also include minors sending images of other minors.

The law also creates a civil action for the unlawful dissemination of intimate images in order to recover damages for any loss or injury sustained as the result of a violation. This allows the victim to recover actual damages for loss of money, reputation or property, and the court may award up to three times the actual amount of the damages sustained.

A likely scenario for a civil suit under this law would be if someone had intimate photos released by a former partner and it ended up costing the victim their job. The victim could then sue for the lost wages and expenses they incurred.

One important detail to remember; it is a defense that the person disseminated the intimate image with the consent of the person depicted. That means if you and your partner decided to post intimate photos online together, you can’t come back later and say it was done without your consent. If you consented at the time, that’s a defense.

Obviously this is an awkward issue, but it’s one that isn’t going away. Knowing you could get jail time for sending out the private photos of your ex could very well be a real deterrent. As our lives are being lived out online more and more, the notion of privacy is becoming less and less clear. Hopefully making “revenge porn” illegal in Pennsylvania will help keeping our private moments truly private and spare people unnecessary embarrassment along the way.