ITIF: Federal Revenge Porn Legislation Needed

Congress should quickly take up, debate on and pass Rep. Jackie Speier’s, D-Calif., soon-to-be introduced revenge porn legislation, the Intimate Privacy Protection Act, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) Vice President Daniel Castro and research assistant Alan McQuinn in a report Wednesday. While a number of states and private businesses have taken up the cause to reduce the online harassment known as revenge porn, Congress needs to take action because victims have inadequate means available to fight back, the report said. ITIF recommends Congress pass legislation criminalizing the nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit images, create a special FBI unit to provide immediate assistance to victims of nonconsensual pornography, and direct the Justice Department to work with the private sector on developing best practices for online services to remove nonconsensual pornography quickly, the report said. To ensure the legislation doesn’t criminalize less malicious behavior or infringe on free speech it should include an intent clause and a knowledge standard, the report said. ITIF also recommended federal legislation not change Section 230 of Title 47 of the U.S. Code, which protects online providers from liability for the content posted by others, so law enforcement can focus on the perpetrators of the crime, and for “sexually explicit material” to be defined in a manner that can evolve over time. Nonconsensual pornography is an “egregious invasion of privacy” predominantly affecting women that “severely damages reputations, endangers safety, and inflicts unjust financial, emotional, and social costs,” Castro said in a news release. “While 24 states and some private companies have taken a stand to slow this insidious crime, we need a consistent, nation-wide policy that adequately brings remedy to the victims and dissuades future violations,” he said.