LONDON – Brits who post sexually explicit images online without permission from the people depicted face a two-year prison term under the UK’s new “revenge porn” law. The law will take effect this spring, a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said.
Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday signed the Criminal Courts and Justice Bill, which contains the revenge-porn ban, after members of Parliament overwhelmingly endorsed the measure. The queen’s signature is a formality.
A least two other provisions of UK law outlaw online postings intended to harass, humiliate or otherwise cause distress to others, implying prohibition of revenge porn. The new law, however, explicitly bans the behavior.
Anyone who posts “photographs or films which show people engaged in sexual activity or depicted in a sexual way or with their genitals exposed, where what is shown would not usually be seen in public” may be charged with a crime. The prohibition applies to social networks and other websites, text messages, email and physical distribution.
Women are the most common victims of revenge porn; consequently, women’s charities in the UK pushed hard for the legislation. The organizations likened revenge porn to domestic abuse.
The bill also establishes a helpline for victims.
