A new bill in the House takes aim at so-called “revenge porn.”
Introduced to the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, H.105 would make illegal the disclosure of sexually explicit images of a person without the subject’s consent.
The practice, a hot issue on the national stage, is termed “revenge porn” because it often involves jilted lovers posting images on websites as a way to get back at an ex.
Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, one of the bill’s sponsors, introduced the legislation Tuesday. Similar legislation has been introduced in Vermont in the past but the bills have failed because revenge porn wasn’t perceived to be a big issue for Vermonters.
“I’m here to tell you that I feel that this bill will affect many lives in Vermont,” Ram told the committee.
Ram took up the issue after being approached by several women who had photographs of themselves posted online without their consent. Aside from photos, the posts also included personal information such as phone numbers and home addresses.
One of the difficulties in drafting legislation is that often the photograph is taken consensually or is a self-taken photo. The problem lies with who is responsible for sharing the material, Ram said.
“That may go viral,” she said. “It may become completely out of your control and out of your hands, shared thousands of times over on the Internet, perhaps as though someone thought it was consensual pornography.”
H.105 builds on an existing statute on voyeurism. The bill would prohibit the dissemination of a photograph or video of a subject in stages of undress or engaged in sexual activity without the subject’s permission.
The bill also extends penalties to images that are digitally altered to make someone appear to be engaging in sexual conduct — using Photoshop or other software programs to put someone’s head onto a different body, for instance.
Ram cited “vitriolic websites” that serve as hubs where people post nude photos, often of ex-lovers. Though many websites are run from the United States, they are often hosted internationally to avoid penalties.
Some websites, she said, are organized geographically by state, so there are pages dedicated to showing photographs of women in Vermont.
California was the first state to make revenge porn illegal in 2013. Since then, 12 more states have adopted similar legislation.
On Monday, Kevin Bollaert became the first person convicted under California’s law. He was allegedly behind two websites, one of which required posters to include victims’ personal contact information and links to their pages on social media.
The bill is in early stages now, and is likely to undergo changes as the committee takes testimony over the coming weeks. Ram said Vermont has the opportunity to learn from other states’ experiences in drafting its legislation, avoiding, for instance, a loophole in the California law that excluded selfies.
In the initial discussion of the bill, legislators were concerned that the bill was too broad.
“Can it apply to a fairly innocent behavior?” asked Willem Jewett, D-Ripton. “Art, perhaps?”
Revenge porn laws often run into difficulties because of First Amendment concerns. Michele Childs of legislative council, who drafted the bill, acknowledged flaws in the draft and encouraged committee members to ask questions of witnesses scheduled to testify this week.
When it comes to creating regulations about the Internet, legislation is often chasing after technology.
“This is an emerging area of law,” Childs said. “We realize this has the potential to step on protected speech issues.” ..Source.. by Elizabeth Hewitt
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