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July 26-Aug. 1, 2019
New York criminalizes revenge porn
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Cyberbullies in New
York state looking to publish
revenge porn will now face
up to a year in jail thanks
to a Bayside lawmaker’s
newly signed legislation
criminalizing the act.
After a six-year push,
Governor Andrew Cuomo
recently signed Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein’s bill
criminalizing the publication
of revenge porn or the “nonconsensual
sharing or
publication of an intimate
image.”
Images classified as
“revenge porn” are done with
the intent to cause harm to
the emotional, financial or
physical welfare of a person.
In addition, the images must
be taken with a reasonable
expectation that it will remain
private.
Under the bill, violators will
face up to a year in jail and as
well as civil damages. The law
also empowers victims to seek
a court order to remove the
offending images online.
“This new law will make it
a Class A misdemeanor to
disseminate revenge porn,
providing prosecutors with
the tools necessary to punish
those who engage in this type
of reprehensible behavior.
Additionally, New York will
become the first state in the
nation to allow victims to seek
a court-ordered injunction to
require websites to remove
the offending images,” said
Braunstein.
The northeast Queens
lawmaker introduced the bill
in 2013 to keep up with people’s
21st-century photo-sharing
habits of decimating intimate
images by phone and online.
In February 2019, Cuomo
and the state Legislature
voted in favor of the bill.
“Thank you to Governor
Cuomo for signing this
important measure into law. I
would also like to express my
gratitude to Carrie Goldberg, a
victims’ rights lawyer, as well
as Sanctuary for Families, the
Cyber Civil Rights Initiative
and the Cyber Sexual Abuse
Task Force, for their tireless
advocacy on this issue,”
Braunstein said.
The Assembly unanimously
passed the bill last year, while
it failed to pass in the then-
Republican Senate. According
to QNS, the Senate did not
bring the bill to the floor
despite alleged pressure from
the Internet Association and
Google.
“Our laws have not kept
pace with technology and how
abusers can use it to harass,
intimidate and humiliate
intimate partners,” Cuomo
said. “By criminalizing the
publication of revenge porn,
we are empowering victims
of this heinous act to take
Jeff Deva, owner of Toskana Pizzeria in Douglaston shows decorated motorcyle
action against their abusers
and showing them a path to
justice.”
Councilman Rory Lancman
passed a similar bill in the City
Council back in 2017. At the
city level, violators can face up
to a year in jail, a $1,000 fine or
both.
“As part of our Women’s
Justice Agenda, we are
focused on changing a culture
that enables sexism and
violence against women,” said
Lieutenant Governor Kathy
Hochul. “This legislation
ensures New Yorkers are not
victims of nonconsensual
release of intimate images,
empowering them to take
action to remove images
from the Internet and subject
Photo by Vicki Schneps
abusers to jail time. This is
another important step in our
overall goals to achieve true
social, economic, racial and
gender justice once and for
all.”
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
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