Nonconsensual Pornography: An Old Crime Updates Its Software

This Note proposes a statute that considers social media and the Internet. The proposed statute is advantageous because it understands how perpetrators abuse social media and the Internet and implements the protections that victims deserve from the legal system. When society understands the harms and “[w]hen there is no outlet for these images, no audience for these images, and no desire to post these images, that is when the images will cease to cause harm to victims.” The lessons from the criminalization of other forms of gender abuse indicate that society needs to change its attitude toward crimes that predominately harm women by accepting the harms as legitimate. Therefore, in addition to proposing a model statute, this Note suggests that other solutions, such as education and the positive use of social media, should be used in conjunction with the statute. Part I discusses the history of nonconsensual pornography and how the Internet has created obstacles for victims. Part II discusses the current legal state and how states have approached the problem inconsistently. Part III proposes a statute and other solutions to be used in conjunction