The sharing of “downblouse” images and pornographic “deepfakes” without consent should be made crimes, according to recommendations to bring laws on intimate image abuse into the smartphone era. The Law Commission said a “patchwork” of criminal offences has not kept pace with technology and is failing to protect all victims, while perpetrators evade justice.
It is proposing the creation of a base offence, with a maximum of six months’ imprisonment, covering all acts of intentionally taking or sharing a sexual, nude or intimate photo or video without consent. This would apply regardless of the perpetrator’s motivation, as the act is “sufficiently wrongful and harmful to warrant criminalisation”.
The Revenge Porn helpline previously told the PA news agency the existing law is leaving “thousands of people unsupported and unvalidated” because they need to show the material was shared with an intent to cause distress. The Law Commission proposes further offences – where the image was taken or shared for sexual gratification, to cause humiliation, alarm or distress, or where the perpetrator has threatened the victim – with tougher prison sentences of two to three years.
