Europe - Foundation RA

REVENGE PORN LAWS

Europe

Country	Statute	Year	Contents – definition, classification, punishment, standard of proof	Punishment	Remarks
United Kingdom
England and Wales	Section 33, Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015	2015	Makes it an offence in England and Wales to disclose private sexual photographs and films without the consent of the individual depicted and with the intent to cause distress.	There is a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment	A call has been made to cover a wider range of offences through enactment of a new Act. The law is not applicable retroactively.
Scotland	Part 1, Section 2, Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Act, 2016	2016	A person (“A”) commits an offence if— (a)A discloses, or threatens to disclose, a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person (“B”) in an intimate situation, (b)by doing so, A intends to cause B fear, alarm or distress or A is reckless as to whether B will be caused fear, alarm or distress, and (c)the photograph or film has not previously been disclosed to the public at large, or any section of the public, by B or with B’s consent.	A person who commits such an offence is liable— (a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both), (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or a fine (or both).
Northern Ireland	Part 3, Section 51, Amendment to Justice Act	2016	It is an offence for a person to disclose a private sexual photograph or film if the disclosure is made— (a)without the consent of an individual who appears in the photograph or film, and (b)with the intention of causing that individual distress.	A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable— (a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine (or both), and (b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both).
Malta	Article 208E, Maltese Criminal Code 2016	2016	It punishes whoever, with an intent to cause distress, emotional harm or harm of any nature, discloses a private sexual photograph or film without the consent of the person or persons displayed or depicted in such photograph or film.	Such person would, on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term of up to two years or to a fine of not less than €,3000 and not more than €5,000, or to both such imprisonment and fine
Germany	General Data Protection Regulation Art Copyright Law		Regulation (EU) 679/2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) A person also has the right to object to the unauthorised dissemination or public display of his/her photograph (section 22, Art Copyright Law)	If privacy rights are infringed, the individual affected can seek civil law remedies, which include: Cease and desist orders, rectification and Compensatory damages.	In 2014, The Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), upheld an earlier ruling from a regional court in Koblenz, Germany, that said a man did not have the right to keep intimate photos of his ex-lover just because she had consented to taking them in the first place.
France	Digital Republic Act	2016	Under the new law, the persons have a right to oppose the use of their personal data.	Revenge porn may be sanctioned by 2 years of imprisonment and a 60.000 euro fine.