Councilmember Bowser “creates criminal offenses for revenge porn”

From a press release:

“Today, Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser introduced legislation to make it punishable for the intentional distribution of sexually explicit images or video without consent, more commonly known as “revenge porn.”

“Revenge porn is the kind of abhorrent behavior on the internet that we must do all we can to stop,” said Councilmember Bowser. “Protecting our residents from serious harm and maintaining their privacy on the web is an important priority of mine. This bill provides significant penalties that we hope that will deter this offensive practice. I look forward to working with my colleagues for its swift passage.”

The Relationship Privacy Protection Act would create a new misdemeanor crime punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500 for distributing revenge porn with the intent to cause serious emotional distress. The bill would also create a new felony crime punishable up to 5 years in prison and a fine up to $12,500 for third parties that knowingly distribute.”