Local MP Maria Miller said, "After an 8 year campaign the Government has announced posting an intimate image online without consent will be made a criminal offence and I very much welcome that step.
"Many groups and individuals have worked hard to support thousands of people who suffer this type of online abuse every year, particularly women who report up three quarters of the abusive images taken to the Police. Making it a crime to post a nude or sexually explicit image of someone online without their consent shows people who abuse others in the online world that their actions will have criminal consequences and they are not above the law.
"Back in 2014 I was contacted by a young woman in Basingstoke who had seen the impact on her friend when a nude image was posted online without her consent. This sparked my involvement in getting a change in the law which started in 2015 with the first Revenge Pornography laws and now, following a Law Commission Inquiry, has led to the announcement today.
“This change in the law will help give thousands of people who experience this appalling abuse a way to access justice. Even more importantly, under the new Online Safety Bill online platforms will have a duty to make sure their organisations are not being used for criminal activity and will have to work to stop postings without consent from happening in the first place, as well as have a ‘takedown‘ process that acts quickly for victims.
“But the internet moves fast and changes in the law are slow, so I have urged the Government to have a standing committee to assess the effectiveness of the Online Safety Bill to ensure any problems with its implementation are acted on quickly.
“The new law will mean more victims will come forward and part of the changes I want to see in the online safety bill is to ensure there is funding for victim support from the fines that will be levied by the new online regulator OFCOM.
“I have already tabled changes to the Online Safety Bill that reflect the Law Commission recommendations and the Government’s announcement today to criminalise posting online intimate images without consent. I will use those amendments when the Bill is before the House of Commons to get clarity from the Government about exactly when and how they will introduce their own changes to the bill and to make sure any changes fully reflect what has been recommended by the Law Commission, including anonymity for victims.
“Now more than ever we need the Online Safety Bill to pass into law as quickly as possible so that it can make these new offences a reality and make the online world a safer place.”
- Find the Government press release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-better-protect-victims-from-abuse-of-intimate-images
- See NC45 – NC50 for Maria’s amendments https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0121/amend/onlinesafety_rm_rep_1125.pdf