12/02/2015

'Revenge Porn' Law Comes Into Effect Today

An amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will today see the act of posting so-called 'revenge porn' become a specific criminal offence.

Those caught posting, both on and off-line, intimate videos or photos of other people without consent will face up to two years in jail.

Laws do already exist under which people can be prosecuted for sharing intimate material online without consent, but the amendment includes a number of measures to "toughen up sentencing on a number of crimes".

Critics of the new law have said that it risks criminalising thousands of young people, and the "sheer numbers" of people who share material online.

(MH/JP)

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