BOSTON — A Massachusetts bill that would ban someone from sharing explicit images or videos without consent was unanimously approved by the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday.
The bill, which now heads to the conference committee to iron out disagreements with the House of Representatives, means that only South Carolina has not banned “revenge porn.”
“With the passage of this bill today, we are taking another step toward closing a loophole in our laws that has caused pain, fear, shame and a sense of helplessness for the survivors who have lived in silence and without justice for so long. ago,” the Democratic senator said. John Keenan, the sponsor of the Senate bill, said in a statement.
“I am deeply grateful to those who shared their stories and advocated for change to ensure others do not have to suffer as they have,” he said. “For every case we know of, countless others remain hidden, so I hope that passage of this legislation by the Senate will quickly lead to the bill being signed by the Governor.”
Sen. Paul Feeney, who acknowledged that several victims were the gallery during the debate, said the bill addresses the “shame, helplessness and embarrassment” that comes from learning that your explicit images were on a website and there was nothing you could do legally. to tackle it.
“While it pains me that we are even dealing with this, I am very pleased that we are sending a message here and showing the people of the Commonwealth that we will no longer stand by and allow people to be victimized and abused,” said he. “Make no mistake: it is emotional and sexual abuse, and we are taking steps here today to send a message that we are listening.”
Minors who possess, purchase or share explicit photos of themselves or other minors can currently be charged with violating state child pornography laws and must register as sex offenders.
The bill would instead allow commitments to the Department of Child Services, but it also allows minors to be diverted to an educational program instead of criminal punishment. The diversion program would teach teens about the legal and non-legal consequences of sexting and would be available to school districts.
The legislation would also address the non-consensual distribution of explicit images by adults by adding a penalty to the existing criminal harassment statute, including up to 2.5 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The criminal ban would also extend to so-called deepfake pornography, which uses computer-generated images.
Coercive control, which advocates describe as a pattern of intentional behavior by an abuser that substantially limits another person’s safety and autonomy, would also be added to the bill’s definition of abuse. Examples of coercive control include threatening to share explicit images, regulating or monitoring a family or household member’s communications and access to services, and isolating a family or household member from friends or relatives.
The legislation would also extend the statute of limitations for assault and battery against a family member or someone with an active protective order from six years to 15 years.
This change would align Massachusetts’ statute of limitations for domestic violence with the statute of limitations for rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and sex trafficking.