California Senate Votes to Ban Online 'Revenge Porn'

What's This?

By Fran Berkman2013-08-16 03:42:05 UTC

The California State Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure on Thursday that would ban so-called "revenge porn."

The bill would outlaw distributing an identifiable image of an unknowing person that would "cause a reasonable person to suffer serious emotional distress."

See also: Revenge-Porn Website Victims Launch Action Against Texxxan and GoDaddy

California Sen. Anthony Cannella introduced the measure because law enforcement officials asked for a tool to fight the problem, according to his communications director Jeff Macedo.

"Senator Cannella was made aware that there were no criminal penalties for revenge porn," Macedo told Mashable. "He looked at it as an issue and saw that here's an instance where technology is moving faster than the law."

Though Cannella submitted the bill after the state's Feb. 22 deadline for filing, he was still able to introduce it as an "urgency measure," which means the issue affects "the public peace, health, or safety," according to the California legislature's website. Bills with urgency clauses require a two-thirds vote in both the state's senate and assembly for passage, and they are immediately enacted into law upon approval.

The measure passed by a vote of 37 to 1. The lone detractor was Leland Yee, who represents the state's eighth district.

As it's written, the proposal would make the offense a disorderly conduct misdemeanor for invasion of privacy. First offenders could receive up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to the current version of the bill.

Florida's lawmakers raised a similar measure earlier this year, but it never made it through the state's legislature.

For it to become law, California's "revenge porn" bill must now pass in the state assembly, before it is sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for approval. Cannella's office said they are hoping the bill will be passed before the end of the current legislative session on Sept. 13.

Image: Flickr, Alex Proimos

Topics: california, Politics, porn, U.S., US & World