Georgia General Assembly Sends Anti-“Revenge Porn” Bill to Governor

On March 31, 2021, the Georgia Senate agreed to changes made to Senate Bill 78, sponsored by Sen. Harold Jones II (D – Augusta), sending the legislation to Governor Brian Kemp. SB 78 would make it a felony to distribute sexually explicit content on a pornographic website with the intent of harassing or causing financial harm to the victim.

“As the Legislative Session has ended, I am pleased to announce that SB 78 passed the House and the Senate and awaits the Governor’s signature. I want to thank the General Assembly for its vote and the many stakeholders that supported this legislation including Street Grace and the Family Policy Alliance of Georgia,” said Sen. Jones II. “Revenge porn, or image-based sexual abuse, is a form of sexual abuse, and it is a serious crime. When a person takes someone’s sexually explicit images and places those images on a pornographic website, their behavior is not adequately addressed by the current misdemeanor punishment. SB 78 raises the punishment and, therefore, will protect many men and women. I am proud to support this piece of legislation.”

First Reader Summary of SB 78: A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 3 of Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to invasion of privacy, so as to revise the prohibition on electronically transmitting or posting nude or sexually explicit photographs or videos for purposes of harassing the depicted person; to provide for an increased penalty for the electronic transmission or posting to a web page that is accessible to the general public; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

The Governor has 40 days from the end of the legislative session to either veto legislation, or have that bill become law with or without his signature. Read the full text of SB 78 below.