New York’s state legislature passed a bill earlier this year that makes revenge porn a class A misdemeanor. Retaliating against a partner by posting pornographic or sexually explicit content online without their consent is now punishable by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine in addition to any other charges filed by the victim.
This bill was sponsored by Monica Martinez and Edward Braunstein and was unanimously passed in both chambers of the New York legislature. The Governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed the bill into law in late July, which makes New York the 46th state to ban revenge porn.
This law provides victims of revenge porn with a cause of action to file criminal charges. This affords them an opportunity to sue the perpetrator for damages and even demand the website which hosts the material to remove the illegally shared pornography. Victims of this crime can also obtain an order of protection against the perpetrator or file a workplace harassment claim if the offender works with them.
Governor Cuomo praised the bill, stating that legislation in New York has not updated with technological advancements. This lack of legislative response has allowed abusers to use technology to harass, intimidate, and humiliate intimate partners. New York Assembly Member Edward Braunstein – in addition to a tech and legislative policy advisor from Cyber Civil Rights Initiative – initially drafted a bill that criminalized nonconsensual pornography in 2013 when only three other states had legislation about revenge porn.
Under the new law, New York treats any explicit images or video of a person that is shared without their consent as harassment. In order to bring forth a valid lawsuit, a victim must prove that the person who shared or published the nonconsensual pornography did it with the purpose of harassing them, alarming them, or damaging their reputation.
While many revenge porn cases involve a desire to humiliate or harass the victim, there are instances where nonconsensual videos and images are shared for the perpetrator’s enjoyment. Revenge porn victims are predominantly women, and while this law is a strong first step, many of them claim that there is still much to be done to prevent illicit images and videos from being posted without consent.
Under New York’s new revenge porn bill, many victims of nonconsensual pornography now have legal recourse against their abusers. If you or someone you love has been affected by non-consensual sharing of images, videos, or other material by another person, you should get in touch with a Long Island attorney experienced in handling both revenge porn and online harassment cases.
Goldstein and Bashner
