The Massachusetts House on Thursday unanimously passed legislation that would criminalize so-called revenge porn, targeting a form of abuse that is already outlawed in 48 other states.
The 154-0 vote came after months of pressure from Governor Charlie Baker and survivors, who’ve argued that Massachusetts laws had fallen woefully behind in protecting people whose ex-partners post sexually explicit images or videos online without their consent.
It still needs approval in the state Senate before reaching Baker’s desk. But House lawmakers hailed the vote as a major step after dozens of states have made the sharing of nonconsensual pornography illegal over the last decade amid the proliferation of smart devices and social media.
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“I want to say to all those who are suffering and to all the survivors: I am sorry it has taken us this long,” said state Representative Alyson M. Sullivan, an Abington Republican who thanked survivors for telling lawmakers their stories. “Your voices have moved mountains . . . to ensure victims have the tools and protections that, unfortunately, you did not.”
The House legislation would make it a misdemeanor crime to knowingly distribute sexually explicit materials of someone, either with the intent to harass, intimidate, or cause emotional distress, or doing so with “reckless disregard” of the person’s expectation that they would remain private.
Those convicted would face up to 2 1/2 years in jail, a $10,000 fine, for both, while those guilty of second or subsequent offenses could face felony penalties, including up to 10 years in prison.
The proposal is a departure from what was pushed by Baker, who sought to make the first offense a felony. House lawmakers also opted to include the new language within the state’s existing misdemeanor criminal harassment statute, albeit with changes.
The state’s current law requires that prosecutors prove someone engaged in a “knowing pattern of conduct or series of acts” — or three or more incidents, according to a 2005 Supreme Judicial Court ruling — to be charged with criminal harassment. The proposed revenge porn statute, however, would be triggered by a single incident, not three.
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Michael S. Day, the House chairman of the judiciary committee, said lawmakers considered this a “loophole,” given prosecutors are currently not able to bring a criminal harassment charge against someone accused of distributing revenge porn if it stems from only a single incident.
“We said, ‘That’s not the way it should be,’” said Day, a Stoneham Democrat.
The approach, however, disappointed those who pushed the Legislature not only to criminalize revenge porn but attach more serious penalties. S.K., who has testified before lawmakers and asked not to be identified by name, said those who are distributing or posting these images are doing it “maliciously,” and in ways that transcend simple harassment.
“It’s really trying to ruin someone’s life. That’s the difference that I wish the House would recognize,” said S.K., who as a high school freshman 15 years ago was persuaded by an upperclassman to send him naked pictures of herself, only for him to distribute them around her school, ultimately forcing her to enroll elsewhere.
“It’s a step. But it’s a small baby step,” she said of the bill moving toward a vote. “I don’t think that it’s fair for it to be considered a misdemeanor, given how much turmoil, frustration, pain, and financial loss this person did to me and my family.”
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Day said he believes the penalties are appropriate. The proposed $10,000 fine, for example, is a dramatic increase over the $1,000 included in the current criminal harassment law, offering what he called “strong deterrence.”
“I think the message is sent with a misdemeanor,” Day said.
Hema Sarang-Sieminski, policy director for Jane Doe, Inc., an advocacy group that works against domestic violence and sexual assault, praised the House’s approach. By folding the new language into the state’s criminal harassment statute, it will help make it easier for revenge porn survivors to seek out a civil harassment prevention order, whose own requirements are tied into the existing law, she said.
“We think it’s a really balanced approach to avoid far more severe criminalization of an issue that does implicate a lot of younger folks,” Sarang-Sieminski said. “The approach is very survivor-centered.”
Massachusetts remains one of just two states — South Carolina being the other — that hasn’t specifically outlawed the practice of revenge porn. It’s a fact that Baker wielded in his State of the Commonwealth address in January to prod lawmakers to act on his proposal, versions of which he’s filed three times since 2017.
He’s also held repeated roundtable discussions with survivors, offering them a platform to recount their personal stories and push for legislative changes.
Aides to Baker did not comment on the legislation beyond saying he would review any bill that reaches his desk. Appearing on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” on Thursday, Baker said he did not understand why the Legislature had taken so long to advance a bill, though he acknowledged the House was moving on it.
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“If you’ve ever heard women talk about what this does to them, you would understand why it’s a crime in 48 states — and you would not understand why it’s not a crime in Massachusetts,” Baker said.
House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Wednesday that lawmakers were trying to “tighten up” the bill’s language before it emerged.
“It was time,” the Quincy Democrat said of holding a vote. “The bill went through the process. It had a number of hearings. . . . Now it’s ready. That’s why now.”
The House bill also attempts to address teen “sexting,” or the sharing of sexual images or videos through phones, apps, and other ways. The proposal would divert minors who share explicit images of themselves or their peers into an “educational diversion program” developed by the state attorney general, instead of automatically charging them with crimes.
Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattpstout.