Senator Jill Schupp’s Legislation to Protect Victims Whose Private, Intimate Photos are Released Without Their Consent is Passed with Bipartisan Support
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri General Assembly passed legislation to protect victims whose private, intimate photos are released without their consent. The legislation, House Bill 1558, includes policy provisions originally included in legislation sponsored by State Sen. Jill Schupp, D- Creve Coeur.
“Today’s laws should keep up with today’s technology,” said Sen. Jill Schupp. “We live in a world where any phone can be used to take a picture, store it and share it with the world at the press of a button. When that technology is used to harm or threaten someone, we must have common-sense laws in place to protect people’s privacy.”
House Bill 1558 makes it a crime to release intimate pictures of another person, without that person’s consent, for the purpose of threatening, harassing or coercing that person. Under this bill, the release of such images would be a class D felony, punishable by up to seven years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Threatening to release such images would also be a class E felony, punishable by up to 4 years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
House Bill 1558, which includes Sen. Schupp’s policy language, passed both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly with bipartisan support.
For more information on Sen. Schupp’s legislation, visit her official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/schupp.