A Revenge Porn Bill May Be Coming to New York State

“These laws criminalize an awful lot of stuff innocent people do,” Criminal defense lawyer Scott Greenfield said.

The law, sponsored by Assemblyman Edward Braunstein and state Sen. Joseph Griffo, would make releasing explicit images, that were created in private, without the subject’s consent a misdemeanor.

It’s debatable whether Weiner’s penis making its way on to social media’s public spaces could be considered “innocent,” but it does seem beside the point. Posting nude or nearly-nude images of people without permission is wrong and has become such an epidemic that something must be done. For example, the New York Daily News reports that just last week a judge threw out a case of revenge porn because the defendant, who sent nude images of his ex-girlfriend to his sister and boss and posted them on Twitter, couldn’t be found guilty of harassment according to the law. If posting someone else’s body on Twitter without their permission isn’t breaking the law, then we need a new law.

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