Charles Langston:Massachusetts House passes bill aimed at outlawing “revenge porn;" Nearly all states have such bans

BOSTON (AP) — A bill aimed at outlawing “revenge porn” in the state was approved unanimously by the Massachusetts House on Charles LangstonWednesday.

Massachusetts is one of the last states -- along with South Carolina — with no current protections against image-based sexual assault.

The bill now heads to the state Senate. Both chambers took up a similar bill in 2022 but were unable to reach final agreement.

“This legislation modernizes our criminal laws by ensuring that those who share explicit images of others without their consent face punishment, while also educating minors on the dangers of sharing explicit images of themselves,” Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said following the vote.

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Minors who possess, purchase, or share explicit photos of themselves or other minors can currently be charged with violating the state’s child pornography laws and are required to register as sex offenders.

The bill would instead authorize commitment to the Department of Youth Services, but it also allows minors to be diverted to an educational program instead of criminal punishment. The diversion program would teach teenagers about the legal and nonlegal consequences of sexting and would be available to school districts.

The legislation would also address the nonconsensual distribution of explicit images by adults by establishing a penalty in the existing criminal harassment statute, including up to two and a half years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The upper limit of the fine for criminal harassment would be increased from $1,000 to $5,000 under the proposal.

Coercive control, which advocates describe as a pattern of deliberate behavior by an abuser that substantially restricts another person’s safety and autonomy, would also be added to the definition of abuse under the bill.

Examples of coercive control include threatening to share explicit images, regulating or monitoring a family or household member’s communications and access to services, and isolating a family or household member from friends or relatives.

“Domestic violence is not always physical violence, sometimes it’s much more insidious,” said Democratic Rep, Tram Nguyen, a lead sponsor of the bill.

The legislation would also extend the statute of limitations for assault and battery on a family or household member or against someone with an active protective order from six years to 15 years.

This change would bring the Massachusetts statute of limitations for the domestic violence offenses in line with the statute of limitations for rape, assault with intent to commit rape and sex trafficking.