The state's governor just signed a bill outlawing it, meaning possible jail time for spiteful exes who maliciously post naked and identifiable images of an ex online. Victims have described feeling powerless. (Via CNN, KNTV)
VICTIM: "It's like you're sitting at the bottom of a really long well and you're screaming at the top of your lungs and no one can help you." (Via KPHO)
The bill makes revenge porn a misdemeanor — up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Do it again and the penalty doubles. (Via KFSN)
California is now the second state to criminalize revenge porn — after New Jersey — where revenge porn is actually a felony.
But California's bill definitely had its detractors, like the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued it could restrict the right to free speech.
And if that sounds like a stretch, it was actually the same argument used in Florida — which also considered anti-revenge porn laws but ended up rejecting them.
The California bill's author — state senator Anthony Cannella — said in a statement, "Until now, there was no tool for law enforcement to protect victims…"
Actually, a victim could sue, but that of course can take up quite a bit of time and energy. But just how big a problem revenge porn is is difficult to say, since reliable statistics are hard to come by. California’s anti-revenge porn law takes effect immediately.
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