Philadelphia Business Lawyers: Pennsylvania Revenge Porn Law

In 2014, Pennsylvania joined 25 other states in passing what is commonly known as a “revenge porn” law. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3131. The new law prohibits unlawful dissemination of intimate images which depict a current or former sexual or intimate partner in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct with the intent to harass, annoy or alarm that individual.

The law makes it a crime for anyone to post explicit photos of a former partner online or send them to others without that partner’s consent. Violators could be sentenced to a year in prison and fined $5,000 if the victim is an adult, or five years in prison with a $10,000 penalty if the victim is a minor.

Difference between Invasion of Privacy Law and Revenge Porn Law

Pennsylvania already has an Invasion of Privacy Law which makes it a crime for someone to take nude photos of another individual without that individual’s consent. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 7507.1. First time offenders of this law could be sentenced to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The difference between the Invasion of Privacy Law already on the books and Pennsylvania’s new Revenge Porn Law is that in the case of revenge porn, a partner had given consent for the photographs to be taken of him or her. However, the Revenge Porn law is designed to curb the release of intimate photographs that, despite being taken with a partner’s consent, were ultimately disseminated to others, such as through email, or posted on the Internet, without that partner’s consent.

Opportunities for Civil Recourse

Victims of revenge porn searching for compensation may be able to find it through the civil legal system, but may face some challenges in doing so. If a victim does not know who released the photo, or a website is protecting the identity of an uploader, it will be difficult to name a defendant in a lawsuit. Victims of revenge porn will also have trouble pursing a claim against websites upon where the photo is published, because under federal law, internet publishers or websites are not liable for content posted by third-party users; therefore, a website cannot be held liable for a photo or video posted by a user. However, a website that urges users to submit the type of content the victim’s claim involves can sometimes deemed as engaging in the content as a co-developer or editor, and therefore open them up to potential liability.

While there are challenges, there are ways for a victim to obtain redress. One possible avenue is a claim for copyright infringement. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) permits victims of revenge porn to file a report for copyright infringement when they see that their photo is being distributed online, and leads to the issuing of a “takedown notice” to an internet service provider or hosting company. This notice expedites the removal of a photo from a website. A lawsuit for copyright infringement can also provide the opportunity to collect damages. However, there is a limitation with this avenue of recourse in that the copyright belongs to the person who took the photo; therefore, a victim who had a photo taken of them is not the copyright holder and will not be able to pursue this claim unless he or she can obtain copyright ownership.

Other causes of civil action include intentional infliction of emotional distress, private disclosure of public facts, intrusion upon seclusion and identity theft.

For more information, call Sidkoff, Pincus & Green at 215-574-0600 or contact us online.