Arizona enacts “revenge porn” law

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill (HR 2001) into law last week that makes it a felony to disclose a nude image of another person, or an image showing specific sexual activities, without that person’s consent, where the purpose is to harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce the person depicted. The law amends A.R.S. 13-1425, and includes “revenge porn” disclosed on the internet, via email, or by other means.

A violation of the new law is generally a class 4 felony, with a couple of exceptions:

  • If the disclosure was by other than electronic means, it is a class 5 felony.
  • If there was merely a threatened disclosure, a violation is a class 1 misdemeanor.

A similar bill was introduced and passed in 2014, but it was challenged in court by a coalition of publishers, librarians and bookstore owners. The group claimed that the language of the original bill was so broad that it could have a chilling effect on the exercise of free speech protected under the First Amendment. According to the ACLU, the problem was that the law, as enacted in 2014, did not have any requirement of malicious intent, and this meant that anyone could theoretically be convicted simply as the result of publishing a nude image. In response, the original law was held in abeyance until the new bill (HR 2001) could be drafted.

Interestingly, the term “revenge porn” is something of a misnomer. The laws in this area tend to define the images in question as those depicting nudity or sexually explicit activities. But there is no requirement that the images be pornographic in order to support a charge under the law. Indeed, a picture could be filled with artistic value, yet still support a charge under A.R.S. 13-1425.

Whatever your view may be on the subject, revenge porn laws have quickly become popular with state legislatures around the country. Prior to 2013, only three states had laws on their books specifically prohibiting the disclosure of sexually explicit pictures without the consent of the person depicted. Today, more than half the states have passed revenge porn laws, with another ten states having similar bills pending.

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