S.1719-C (Martinez) / A.5981 (Braunstein)

STAFF CONTACT :

Director, Government Affairs
518.694.4463

BILL

S.1719-C (Martinez) / A.5981 (Braunstein)

SUBJECT

Establishing the Crime of Non-Consensual Dissemination of Sexually Explicit Images

DATE

Support

The Business Council of New York State, the state’s leading statewide business and industry association, supports this legislation that would establish the crime of non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit images.

This bill moves New York State more into line with other States in the area of protections afforded those who are the victims of having been subjected to the non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit images without their consent. The proposal adds a new section, 245.15 to the New York Penal Law, which provides that a person is guilty of non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit images when he or she knowingly discloses a photograph, film, videotape, or recording of another person whose intimate parts are exposed or who is engaged in an act of sexual contact, when a reasonable person would have known that the person depicted would not have consented to such dissemination.

Additionally, the dissemination must be without such person's consent and under circumstances in which the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, i.e., the person has consented to the capture or possession of an image within the context of a private or confidential relationship. The measure makes it a Class A misdemeanor to intentionally publish online a photo or video of someone's naked or partially naked body without their permission.

While there have been a number of bills drafted that try to address this important issue, they fall short of the provisions addressed in this measure, which provides important protections for internet service providers from unfounded legal disputes that would be counter to the main focus of this legislation. Thus, this bill not only addresses the societal goal of penalizing "revenge porn", the bill also places New York State in line with federal law, specifically 47 U.S.C. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).

For the above stated reasons, The Business Council supports this legislation and urges its passage.