A bill dealing with “revenge porn” that cleared the House in late February has been modified and approved by the Senate which means it only needs one more vote in the Missouri House.
The bill would create a felony crime for distributing intimate images of another individual when a reasonable person would understand that the image was private.
The bill was amended in a Senate committee to hold internet service providers liable if don’t remove the images within five days of being notified of them. It also creates a felony offense for threatening to distribute nonconsensual private sexual images. That provision was added on the House floor three days before Governor Eric Greitens was indicted on a felony charge.
Greitens is accused of taking a non-consensual photo of a partially nude woman and threatening to distribute it if she spoke about their encounter. The bill’s sponsor at the time said there was no connection between Greitens alleged activity and the new addition to the measure. 38 states and the District of Columbia currently have revenge porn laws.
