STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7855 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY April 11, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BORES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing crimes for the unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image; to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the statute of limi- tations for commencing cases related to the unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image; and to repeal section 245.15 of the penal law relating to the unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 245.15 of the penal law is REPEALED and four new 2 sections 245.15, 245.16, 245.17 and 245.18 are added to read as follows: 3 § 245.15 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image; 4 definitions, application. 5 1. The following definitions shall apply to sections 245.16, 245.17, 6 and 245.18 of this article: 7 (a) "Intimate part" means the naked genitals, pubic area, anus or 8 female nipple of the person; 9 (b) "Disseminate" and "publish" shall have the same meaning as defined 10 in section 250.40 of this title; 11 (c) "Sexual conduct" shall have the same meaning as defined in subdi- 12 vision ten of section 130.00 of this part; and 13 (d) "Digitization" shall mean to alter an image in a realistic manner 14 utilizing an image or images of a person, other than the person 15 depicted, or computer-generated images. 16 2. The following provisions shall apply to sections 245.16, 245.17, 17 and 245.18 of this article: 18 (a) The provisions of sections 245.16, 245.17, and 245.18 shall not 19 apply to the following: 20 (i) the reporting of unlawful conduct; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11497-02-5
A. 7855 2 1 (ii) the dissemination or publication of an intimate image made in the 2 course of official law enforcement duties, legal proceedings or criminal 3 prosecution, or medical treatment; 4 (iii) images involving voluntary exposure in a public setting; or 5 (iv) dissemination or publication of an intimate image made for a 6 legitimate public purpose. 7 (b) Nothing in section 245.16, 245.17, or 245.18 shall be construed to 8 limit, or to enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C § 230 confers on an 9 interactive computer service for content provided by another information 10 content provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230. 11 (c) Dissemination of multiple intimate images of the same individual 12 as part of a common act shall be considered a single offense. 13 (d) (i) A violation of section 245.16, 245.17, or 245.18 shall be 14 deemed to be committed within the state if any conduct that is an 15 element of the offense occurs within the state. 16 (ii) Prosecution for a violation of section 245.16, 245.17, or 245.18 17 may be had in any jurisdiction in which the offense was committed or a 18 victim resides. 19 § 245.16 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in 20 the third degree. 21 A person is guilty of unlawful dissemination or publication of an 22 intimate image in the third degree when such person: 23 1. intentionally disseminates or publishes a still or video image 24 depicting another person with one or more intimate parts exposed or 25 engaging in sexual conduct with another person, including an image 26 created or altered by digitization, where such person depicted may 27 reasonably be identified from the still or video image itself or from 28 information displayed in connection with the still or video image; and 29 2. knew or reasonably should have known that the person depicted did 30 not consent to or license such dissemination or publication, including 31 the dissemination or publication of an image taken with the consent of 32 the person depicted when such person had a reasonable expectation that 33 the image would remain private, regardless of whether the actor was 34 present when such image was taken. 35 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in the 36 third degree is a class A misdemeanor. 37 § 245.17 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in 38 the second degree. 39 A person is guilty of unlawful dissemination or publication of an 40 intimate image in the second degree when such person commits the crime 41 of unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in the 42 third degree and: 43 1. such person has previously been convicted of unlawful dissemination 44 or publication of an intimate image in the third degree; or 45 2. such person commits such crime with intent to cause harm to the 46 emotional, financial or physical welfare of the person depicted in the 47 intimate image or secures pecuniary gain from the unlawful dissemination 48 or publication of the intimate image. 49 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in the 50 second degree is a class E felony. 51 § 245.18 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in 52 the first degree. 53 A person is guilty of unlawful dissemination or publication of an 54 intimate image in the first degree when such person commits the crime of 55 unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in the third 56 degree and:
A. 7855 3 1 1. such person has previously been convicted of the crime of unlawful 2 dissemination or publication of an intimate image in the second degree 3 as defined in subdivision one of section 245.17 of this article; or 4 2. such person commits the crime of unlawful dissemination or publica- 5 tion of an intimate image in the second degree as defined in subdivision 6 two of section 245.17 of this article and the person against whom the 7 offense is committed is targeted due to such person's race, religious 8 conviction, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, 9 color, or ethnic or national origin. 10 Unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image in the 11 first degree is a class D felony. 12 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the criminal procedure law is 13 amended by adding two new paragraphs (i) and (j) to read as follows: 14 (i) A prosecution for unlawful dissemination or publication of an 15 intimate image in the third degree as defined in section 245.16 of the 16 penal law must be commenced within five years of the commission of the 17 crime, or, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, within three years 18 after the aggrieved party should have discovered the unlawful dissem- 19 ination or publication of an intimate image, whichever is later. 20 (j) A prosecution for unlawful dissemination or publication of an 21 intimate image in the first or second degree as defined in sections 22 245.16 and 245.17 of the penal law must be commenced within seven years 23 of the commission of the crime, or, in the exercise of reasonable dili- 24 gence, within three years after the aggrieved party should have discov- 25 ered the unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image, 26 whichever is later. 27 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 28 have become a law.