SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's governor yesterday signed into law a "revenge porn" statute banning “distributing intimate images of a person without that person’s permission.”
Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed HB 71, which passed both sides of the Legislature last month.
The statute modifies existing Utah criminal code to make the distribution of intimate images a class A misdemeanor on the first offense, with subsequent charges deemed third-degree felonies.
Revenge porn is an online category where website operators post nude or erotic images of women or men without their consent. Some revenge porn sites include actual email addresses, cellphone numbers, links to Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn profiles, and residential addresses displayed for all to see.
Legislatures in Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Delaware, Arizona, Washington, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island and Maryland have considered implementing similar laws. California and New Jersey already have enacted revenge porn laws.
On a federal level, Calif. Rep. Jackie Speier said she is preparing to introduce legislation to criminalize revenge porn and hopes to bring the bill to Congress sometime this month.