Banning 'Revenge Porn'

Published 5:11 pm Thursday, October 24, 2013

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill making “revenge porn” illegal.

Entire websites, according to news reports, had been established so that jilted lovers could exact revenge by posting nude photos of their ex.

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The California law makes it a misdemeanor to post identifiable nude pictures on line without permission with the intent to cause distress or humiliation. The punishment for violating the new law is up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

That anyone would post such a photograph on line with such malevolent intent (or without evil intentions) is hard to understand. But the Internet, with its cloak of anonymity and lack of accountability, allows the same sort of character assassination to happen with words every minute of the day.

The California law was sadly necessary and other states will surely follow, but the libels facilitated and accommodated by the Internet must be addressed, too.

As for avoiding “revenge porn,” the best method by far is simply not taking, and not allowing anyone else to take, a photograph of you naked in the first place.

Or the second place.

—JKW—