Every state now has a law criminalizing the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images, but revenge porn laws by state differ sharply in how the offense is classified, what prosecutors have to prove, and what remedies victims can pursue. South Carolina became the last state to enact such a law in May 2025, and that same month a new federal statute, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, added federal criminal penalties and a 48-hour platform takedown requirement on top of the existing state framework.1Office of the Governor of South Carolina. Gov. Henry McMaster Signs Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Bill Into Law2The 19th. Take It Down Act Signing
How Penalties Vary From State to State
Most states treat a first offense as a misdemeanor, with the charge rising to a felony for repeat offenses, distribution to large audiences, financial motive, or minor victims. A smaller group of states charges a felony from the first offense. A content analysis of state codes found Class A misdemeanor to be the most common classification, appearing in 14 states, with fines most often in the $5,000 to $10,000 range and prison exposure typically between one and two years.3Journal of Criminal Justice and Law. Revenge Porn: A Critical Content Analysis of the Nation’s Laws
On the lighter end, Alaska treats the offense as a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. California caps its misdemeanor penalty at one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. New York’s Class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, and up to three years of probation.4FindLaw. Revenge Porn Laws by State5New York State Senate. Senate Bill S1719C
Several states treat a first offense as a felony. Illinois classifies it as a Class 4 felony with one to three years in prison and fines up to $25,000. New Jersey makes it a third-degree crime carrying three to ten years and a $15,000 fine. Georgia’s maximum fine of $100,000 pairs with one to five years in prison for felony-level offenses. Kansas is the harshest in the file: a first offense is a Severity Level 8 felony carrying seven to 23 months and a $100,000 fine, and a second offense can bring 31 to 136 months and a $300,000 fine.4FindLaw. Revenge Porn Laws by State
South Carolina’s 2025 law makes sharing intimate images with intent to harm a felony punishable by up to five years and a $5,000 fine for a first offense, rising to one to ten years and a $10,000 fine for later offenses. Sharing without intent to harm is a misdemeanor the first time and a felony on a second conviction. The law also explicitly covers images created with artificial intelligence.6South Carolina Public Radio. Publishing Revenge Porn Now a Crime in South Carolina1Office of the Governor of South Carolina. Gov. Henry McMaster Signs Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Bill Into Law
What Prosecutors Have to Prove
The practical reach of a state’s law often turns on the mental state the prosecution has to show. Some states require specific intent to harm. Others ask only whether the defendant knew or should have known the depicted person did not consent.
Vermont requires both knowing disclosure and specific intent “to harm, harass, intimidate, threaten, or coerce.” Texas added an intent-to-harm element by amendment in 2019. New York’s statute requires that the defendant acted with intent “to cause harm to the emotional, financial, or physical welfare” of the person depicted.7National Association of Attorneys General. An Update on the Legal Landscape of Revenge Porn5New York State Senate. Senate Bill S1719C
Illinois and Minnesota use a knowledge-based test: the prosecution must prove the defendant “knew or should have known” the depicted person did not consent, with no need to prove specific intent to cause harm. Indiana’s statute uses similar language, reaching anyone who “knows or reasonably should know” the person did not consent.7National Association of Attorneys General. An Update on the Legal Landscape of Revenge Porn
Legal scholars Danielle Citron and Mary Anne Franks have argued that intent-to-harm standards exclude cases where images are shared for financial gain, social status, sexual gratification, or entertainment rather than a direct desire to hurt the person depicted.8Harvard Law Review. Evaluating New York’s Revenge Porn Law
Civil Lawsuits by Victims
A victim does not have to wait for a prosecutor to act. Federal law and many state statutes let the depicted person sue the distributor directly.
The Federal Cause of Action
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 created a federal civil remedy at 15 U.S.C. § 6851, effective October 1, 2022. Anyone identifiably depicted in an intimate image may sue the person who distributed it if the distribution involved interstate commerce (which includes the internet, social media, and cell phones) and the distributor knew or recklessly disregarded the lack of consent. Plaintiffs may recover actual damages or liquidated damages of $150,000, plus attorney’s fees and costs, and courts may issue injunctions and allow victims to proceed under a pseudonym. Consenting to the creation of an image is not consent to its distribution. The statute does not cover threats to distribute or sextortion where no image was actually released.9C.A. Goldberg Law. States With Revenge Porn Laws10Boston Lawyer Blog. Congress Created a Remedy for Victims of Revenge Porn
State Civil Statutes
California’s Civil Code § 1708.85 allows victims to seek injunctions and recover attorney’s fees and costs, proceed pseudonymously, and require the court to keep the plaintiff’s identity confidential.11Justia. California Civil Code Section 1708.85
New York’s civil framework, added by S1719C in 2019, allows compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. Victims can petition for a court order requiring websites to permanently remove the images. The statute of limitations is three years from dissemination or one year from discovery, whichever is later. A criminal complaint is not a prerequisite.5New York State Senate. Senate Bill S1719C
Delaware and Nebraska have both adopted the Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act, which lets prevailing plaintiffs recover the greater of actual damages or statutory damages up to $10,000 per defendant, any monetary gain the defendant obtained, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.9C.A. Goldberg Law. States With Revenge Porn Laws12WomensLaw.org. Nebraska Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images
Texas’s Relationship Privacy Act, originally enacted in 2015, lets victims recover actual damages (including for mental anguish), court costs, attorney’s fees, and exemplary damages. Courts can issue restraining orders or injunctions, with penalties of $1,000 per willful violation.13Texas Legislature Online. S.B. 1135 – Relationship Privacy Act
The Federal Criminal Law and the 48-Hour Takedown Rule
President Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act on May 19, 2025. It makes knowingly publishing or threatening to publish nonconsensual intimate images a federal crime, punishable by up to two years in prison for offenses involving adults and up to three years for offenses involving minors, plus fines and restitution. The criminal provisions took effect immediately on signing.2The 19th. Take It Down Act Signing14Hunton Andrews Kurth. U.S. Enacts Take It Down Act
The statute explicitly covers AI-generated deepfakes, defined as images “indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction” of an identifiable person. It reaches graphic sexual content including sexual intercourse, masturbation, and the display of uncovered genitals, pubic areas, or anuses. Non-sexual or satirical imagery is excluded.2The 19th. Take It Down Act Signing
The law also requires online platforms to run a notice-and-removal system. On receiving a valid report, a platform must remove the content and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies within 48 hours. Platforms had until May 19, 2026, to build these systems, at which point the Federal Trade Commission began enforcement. Violations carry civil penalties of $53,088 per infraction, and the FTC runs a public reporting portal at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.15National Association of Attorneys General. Congress’s Attempt to Criminalize Nonconsensual Intimate Imagery16Federal Trade Commission. Complying With the TAKE IT DOWN Act17Federal Trade Commission. Take It Down Act Enforcement Starts Now
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Cato Institute have objected that, unlike the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the law lacks counter-notice mechanisms and penalties for frivolous removal requests, which they say could push platforms to remove content without careful review.15National Association of Attorneys General. Congress’s Attempt to Criminalize Nonconsensual Intimate Imagery
Deepfakes and AI-Generated Images
By 2025, legislators in every state had introduced some form of bill addressing sexually explicit deepfakes, and a Public Citizen tracker counted at least 45 states with one or more enacted laws covering nonconsensual intimate deepfakes as of early 2026.18MultiState. How AI-Generated Content Laws Are Changing Across the Country19Public Citizen. Tracker: Intimate Deepfakes State Legislation
New York was an early mover: S1042A, signed in October 2023, makes it illegal to disseminate AI-generated explicit images of a person without consent, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, and gives victims a right to sue.20New York State Senate. Hinchey Bill to Ban Non-Consensual Deepfake Images South Carolina’s 2025 law also covers “digitally forged intimate images” created by AI or other computer-generated means.1Office of the Governor of South Carolina. Gov. Henry McMaster Signs Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Bill Into Law
Where to Get Help and How to Get Images Removed
The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a 24/7 helpline at 844-878-2274. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is available at 800-656-4673, by text (“HOPE” to 64673), or through online chat.21Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. CCRI Safety Center22RAINN. How to Report Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse
For removal, adults can use StopNCII.org, a free tool that creates a hash (digital fingerprint) of an intimate image without uploading the image itself; participating platforms use the hash to detect and remove matches. The service reports more than 200,000 images removed, with a removal rate above 90 percent. For anyone under 18, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children runs a separate “Take It Down” tool, and the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678 accepts reports involving minors.23StopNCII.org. StopNCII.org22RAINN. How to Report Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse
If a platform fails to remove reported content within the 48-hour window set by the TAKE IT DOWN Act, you can file a complaint with the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. The FBI accepts reports of sextortion and nonconsensual image distribution through its field offices and at tips.fbi.gov.22RAINN. How to Report Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse24FBI. Sextortion