Mississippi bill would impose penalties for revenge porn

Published 11:08 am Sunday, February 17, 2019

Mississippi could make revenge porn a crime.

The state Senate passed a bill Thursday to set penalties for anyone who shares or publishes “intimate visual material,” such as nude photos, that were created with the intention of being private.

Senate Bill 2528 would allow a $1,000 penalty for intentional distribution of the material and a $500 penalty for unintentional distribution.

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One of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Sen. Sally Doty of Brookhaven, says young people need to understand that sharing intimate photos is a bad idea because another person could publish them after a relationship breaks up.

The bill would also set penalties of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine for extortion related to intimate photos or movies.

The bill goes to the House for more work.