Georgia Senate Passes Anti-“Revenge Porn” Bill

ATLANTA (March 10, 2020) | On Friday, March 5, 2021, the Georgia Senate passed Senate Bill 78, sponsored by Sen. Harold Jones II (D – Augusta). 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 Crossover Day has ended, I am pleased to announce that SB 78 has passed the Senate and now heads to the House of Representatives for full passage,” 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 Senate Bill 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.

To read the full text of SB 78, click HERE or see pdf below.