The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland (ACLU) opposes SB 769, which in significant part seeks to rewrite Maryland’s carefully crafted 2014 prohibiting so called “revenge porn,” or the non-consensual publishing of private, intimate photographs.  Unfortunately, the rewriting in this bill ignores the limits imposed by the First Amendment, by significantly expanding the scope of speech made criminal by the bill to include clearly protected speech.  The bill also expands the scope of the prohibited distribution beyond posting on the internet.  We do not oppose that aspect of the bill.

Sponsors

Senator Zirkin

Status

Won: new law

Session

2018

Bill number

Position

Problematic