Revenge Porn (H 7537)

In February, the ACLU testified before the House Judiciary committee in opposition to legislation addressing the electronic dissemination of sexually explicit material, often referred to as “revenge porn.” The ACLU testified that, while there are legitimate and serious privacy issues surrounding the transmission of a person’s private images without their consent, the legislation as worded could result in heavy felony penalties against individuals who simply re-share an image that has been shared with them, regardless of any intent to harm the person pictured. The ACLU further testified that the legislation might have a chilling effect on the sharing of public images such as pictures from Abu Ghraib, which fall under the definition of sexually explicit material, taken and shared without consent.