Illinois Cracking Down on Revenge Porn

 Posted on March 22, 2014 in Criminal Law

Revenge porn involves the online posting of intimate and/or pornographic photos and videos of another, without that person's consent. Though this would seem like an obviously illegal act, many states have failed to keep up with the times, and have yet to codify laws that criminalize such abhorrent acts. Luckily, here in Illinois, some changes seems to be coming when it comes to the criminalization of revenge porn. A new bill was introduced by Illinois State Sen. Michael Hastings in order to make the posting of revenge porn a felony under state law.

 Why Revenge Porn, and Why is it Legal?

Revenge porn is the online posting of intimate videos and photos of people in compromising situations. It can be just as the name implies, a means for exacting revenge against another, perhaps a ex-lover or friend. Some posters find it quite hilarious, and the fact remains that there has yet to be any significant legal punishment or ramification for most of these actors. Even worse is that fact that there are websites specifically devoted to providing a platform for posting revenge porn, and to also make it easily accessible to viewers throughout the world.

Those who seek to have the photos and videos removed face an extremely arduous battle with little to no recourse, in addition to the embarrassment and reputational injury that can arise. Even more startling is the fact that the owners of revenge porn websites are typically beyond the reach of local governments, because the web hosting often occurs in non-US countries. In fact, under Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act, websites cannot be held responsible for content posted by its users, regardless of how illegal that content may be.

Last year, Amanda Todd, a British Columbia teenager committed suicide after topless photos of her in the 7th grade were distributed repeatedly throughout the internet by an adult man. In recent years there have been a few high profile prosecutions of revenge porn "kingpins," primarily American men who operate and run revenge porn sites. In fact, a Moline, Illinois native Kevin Bollaert is currently facing prosecution in California for both allegedly creating revenge porn websites, and subsequently charging those featured on the website for payments to have the postings removed.

 States such as New Jersey have begun the process of enacting laws to criminalize these gross violations of privacy. Under SB2694 presented by Sen. Hastings, the Illinois penal code would be amended to create an additional felony to "knowingly place, post, or reproduce on the Internet a photograph, video, or digital image of a person in a state of nudity, in a state of sexual excitement, or engaged in any act of sexual conduct or sexual penetration, without the knowledge and consent of that person.” However, other state laws are extremely tricky. For example, California does not provide for prosecution in those instances in which a victim knowingly sent the photo to another person, regardless of where and how frequently that photo is subsequently posted and distributed. This is because the California law only covers media made with "a reasonable expectation of privacy" that is then distributed by another with the intent to cause serious emotional distress.”

 Hopefully, in the upcoming months the legislation submitted will become part of the Illinois criminal code. Contact the criminal law attorneys here at the Law Offices of  Cosmo Tedone and Barbara Morton, P.C. in Joliet, Illinois for more information on how you can fight revenge porn, and other violations of privacy.