BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State Legislature passed a bill which would ban "revenge porn", which is the act of posting a sexually explicit photo of someone to the internet without their consent as a way to exact revenge against them.
"(The intent) is to cause emotional and physical harm," Assemblywoman Monica Wallace said. "Revenge porn is a real problem. One study showed and estimated that maybe one in 25 Americans have been the subject of revenge porn. Most of the victims are women, but not all. Over 90 percent of the victims experience some sort of emotional trauma and humilitation and distress as a result of the closure."
Stalking and harassment is also a component of the revenge porn, according to Wallace.
Assemblywoman Karen McMahon called the act "disturbing" and "disgusting".
"No one should be subjected to the horror of having intimate personal images strewn across the internet without their consent," she said.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said punishment for the crime is a Class A misdemeanor and up to a year in prison. Prosecutors will have to prove that there was an intent to harm a person. He said even if there is consent to take sexually explicit photos, it becomes non consenual when someone posts it online in response to a breakup or fight.