Revenge porn is to be outlawed under amendments to new legislation to be approved by Cabinet today.
The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill looks set to make revenge porn illegal in Ireland.
Revenge porn, online stalking, and distributing intimate photos of people without their consent are set to be made crimes punishable by heavy fines and potential jail sentences.
The proposed changes will also provide for a separate amendment to deal with another offence, “upskirting”, defined as the practise of taking a photograph, usually without consent, underneath a woman’s skirt or dress.
The bill was based on detailed Law Reform Commission recommendations on how to prevent harmful communications and digital safety.
The bill is worded as follows:
“An intimate image means a visual recording of a person made by any means including a photographic, film or video recording (whether or not the image of the person has been altered in any way)
— (a) (i) of his or her genital organs or anal region or her breasts (whether covered by underwear or bare), or (ii) in which the person is nude, is exposing his or her genital organs or anal region or her breasts, or (iii) in which the person is engaged in sexual activity
(b) in respect of which, if it was recorded with consent, at the time of the recording and afterwards there were circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy; “consent” means the agreement by choice of a person who has the freedom and capacity to make that choice.
The offence of harassment will include all forms of communication including through online or digital communications or communications about another person.
Under these legislative proposals, the maximum prison term for such offences is specified as seven years. A €5,000 fine, six months in prison, or both is the minimum fine.
As is the norm, the severity of the crime will be reflected by the punishment.
As per the wording of the bill, communication is defined as a) “by spoken words, other audible means, behaviour, writing, sign or visible representation, and…
(b) the communication of information that is generated, processed, transmitted, received, recorded, stored or displayed by electronic means or in electronic form; “distribute” and “publish” mean distribute or publish by any means of communication are to be outlawed.
