New York is the latest state to criminalise ‘sextortion’ in the US
In a first-of-its-kind measure, a New York law will enable victims of revenge porn to obtain a court order to remove the offensive images from the web.
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New York State has finally outlawed revenge porn, following a year-long campaign by the New York Post.
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed a bill that outlaws the “dissemination or publication of an intimate image” seeking to cause “emotional, financial, or physical” harm to a person.
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The law imposes up to a year of jail time and potential civil fines for offenders, while empowering victims in a first-of-its-kind measure to obtain a court order removing the images from the web if they weren’t meant to be distributed.
“This new law will make it a Class A misdemeanour to disseminate revenge porn, providing prosecutors with the tools necessary to punish those who engage in this type of reprehensible behaviour. Additionally, New York will become the first state in the nation to allow victims to seek a court ordered injunction to require websites to remove the offending images,” said Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, who has carried the bill since 2013.
State politicians have previously failed to pass the law after bowing to pushback from internet companies.
“Our laws have not kept pace with technology and how abusers can use it to harass, intimidate and humiliate intimate partners,” Mr Cuomo said in a statement. “By criminalising the publication of revenge porn, we are empowering victims of this heinous act to take action against their abusers and showing them a path to justice.”
The bill was passed after a series of exposés by the New York Post highlighting the issue.
The bill was passed in February and officials said they waited to sign it because they had other measures to attend to. The law takes effect in 60 days.
Forty-one US states have already outlawed revenge porn, as have Washington, D.C., New York City and several counties, including Nassau County.
In Australia, Tasmania is the only state or territory not to have made image-based sexual abuse a specific criminal offence. Several states and territories also allow victims of domestic or family violence to order their partners to destroy any intimate images they may have and prohibit them from distributing such images.
This story first appeared in the New York Post and has been republished here with permission.
Originally published as New York is the latest state to criminalise ‘sextortion’ in the US
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