Dec
16

Minnesota’s New Revenge Porn Law and Free Speech

On August 1, 2016, a new Minnesota law came into effect criminalizing acts involving what is commonly known as “revenge porn.”  The law is intended to protect people from the actions of jilted partners who post on the internet or otherwise distribute sexual images of their ex’s, often including names and contact information.  Minnesota Statute 617.261, entitled “Nonconsensual Dissemination of Private Sexual Images,” makes it a crime “to intentionally disseminate” a private sexual image of another, identifiable person.  Under this law, the person who disseminated the image...