Sen. Holt’s “revenge porn” bill headed to Senate floor

SUBMITTED

The full Senate Appropriations Committee has approved Senator David Holt’s legislation to make “revenge porn” against the law in Oklahoma.  Senate Bill 1257 will now advance to consideration on the Senate floor.  Approved Wednesday on a vote of 37 to 1, the measure criminalizes the dissemination of non-consensual pornography, sometimes known as “revenge porn.”  

“Non-consensual pornography is a destructive act that especially targets women, and it should be a crime,” said Holt, R-Oklahoma City. “Our statutes often don’t contemplate modern life, and this is one of those situations. I am grateful that so far my colleagues agree."

SB 1257 provides that a person commits a crime when they intentionally disseminate an image of another identifiable person who is engaged in a sexual act or is nude; they obtained the image under circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to know that the image was private; and they knew or should have known that the dissemination was nonconsensual. It exempts disseminations related to law enforcement investigations or when the exposure or sexual act was committed in public or in a commercial setting. The first offense would be a misdemeanor and the second offense would be a felony.

SB 1257 must be considered on the Senate floor by March 10.