Proposal To Make Revenge Porn Criminal Offense

Members of Alþingi on behalf of Bright future have introduced a proposal for amendments to the penal code, which would make the circulation of images considered revenge porn a criminal offense, punishable with up to 2 years in prison. First mover of the proposal is Björt Ólafsdóttir.

The first of the two proposed amendments sounds as follows: “Whoever imports, acquires for himself or for other, publishes or distributes image material, photographs, moving images or comparable things where an individual is portrayed naked or in a sexual way without that person’s consent, shall be imprisoned for up to one year or two years in case of a severe violation.”

Another analogous clause would specify images that are humiliating for the victim of the offense or cause him/her harm or misery, whether or not nudity or sexual connotations are involved.

The reasoning attached to the proposal cites repeated news about images circulating among adult, Icelandic males, as well as international incidents involving compromising images of famous women.

Current law does forbid publishing information about the private affairs of another without valid reason. That offense is also punishable by prison. Distributing pornographic images is also already forbidden by law.