Free speech advocates losing legal challenges against revenge porn Follow Us
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Free speech advocates are striking out in their legal challenges to revenge porn laws.
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld a law that bars displaying intimate images or video of another person, either nude or engaged in sexual acts, without the subject’s consent.
A lower court had thrown out the state’s non-consensual porn law, saying the statute banned constitutionally protected if unsavory content.
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Free speech advocates don’t defend Michael Casillas, who had tapped into his ex-girlfriend’s Dish Network account to access intimate photos with her and another man that he then posted to the internet.
The Minnesota Supreme Court Chamber, located inside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. (Photo via Jonathunder/Wikipedia Commons)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CN) Minnesota’s highest court unanimously upheld the state’s nonconsensual-porn statute Wednesday, bringing holiday cheer to privacy advocates and a year-end letdown to free-speech groups.
The court found that the statute, which has been embroiled in litigation since its passage in 2016, criminalizes constitutionally protected speech but is focused tightly enough on preventing the nonconsensual dissemination of explicit images to stand up to strict scrutiny.
“The constitutional right to free speech stands as a bedrock for our democracy,” Justice Natalie Hudson wrote in the 26-page opinion. “To protect this fundamental promise, we evaluate any encroachment on free speech with both caution and skepticism.”
Updated on Dec. 22.
On Tuesday, former congresswoman Katie Hill (D-Calif.) sued her ex-husband, Kenneth Heslep, along with the owners of Redstate.com and the Daily Mail, saying they had distributed what amounted to “nonconsensual porn.” As NBC News first reported, the 41-page lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for emotional distress and violation of state law for distribution of intimate personal material without Hill’s consent.
Two weeks ago, Hill won a temporary restraining order against Heslep. Hill accused him of choking and threatening her during years of abuse, as well as leaking nude photos and other information that led to her resignation.