Should More States Ban Revenge Porn?

By Emily Stone

An angry ex can be an unpleasant thing. An angry ex with naked photos of you who isn’t afraid to post them online is terrifying.

That’s the concept behind “revenge porn.” Only two states, California and New Jersey, currently have laws banning revenge porn and Illinois might soon join them.

“This is behavior that isn’t going to be tolerated,” said Scott Drury, an Illinois legislator.

Under a bill proposed by Drury, any non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit materials would become a felony, classified as a sex crime. Consequences would be more severe if the victim is a minor or disabled.

Drury said his bill goes beyond those in terms of labeling the offense a sex crime. The bill also allows for the forfeiture of any profits made from the photos, which is a way of targeting for-profit sites that post them.

Recently, Hunter Moore, dubbed the “revenge porn king” was indicted by the FBI for allegedly hacking into computers to retrieve nude photos. Moore’s now defunct site, IsAnyoneUp, encouraged angry exes to post revenge porn.

What do you think? Should more states ban revenge porn?