Sending unsolicited nude photos could become a crime in California
Long considered the bane of online dating, sending unsolicited nude photos could soon be against the law in California.
State Sen. Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, announced that she plans to partner with dating app Bumble to introduce a bill in January that would make such unwanted photos punishable with a fine.
“We’re in a digital world, and it is critical we protect online users,” Chang said in prepared remarks. “I’ve heard the horrific stories of women who have been victimized and digitally harassed. This is absolutely unacceptable. We need to send a message that this culture of online harassment must go.”
Chang’s proposed bill would follow Texas’ first-in-the-nation law, which makes it a misdemeanor to send unwanted nudes. Bumble helped push that legislation through as well.
“So much of people’s live are spent online, yet the digital world has fallen short of protecting us there. What is illegal in the real world needs to be illegal in the digital world,” said Bumble CEO Wolfe Herd.
This bill would expand upon existing digital safeguards aimed at protecting personal privacy in the online sphere.
It is already a crime in California to post “revenge porn,” that is graphic photos intended to be private that are published with the intent to humiliate.
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Sending unsolicited nude photos could become a crime in California."
