2016 -- S 2540

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LC004577

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - ELECTRONIC IMAGING DEVICES

     Introduced By: Senators Lynch Prata, Gallo, Sosnowski, and Nesselbush

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2016

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     (Attorney General)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 11-64-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-64 entitled "Electronic

Imaging Devices" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     11-64-1. Definitions. -- (1) For the purposes of this section the following definitions

apply:

      (a) "Disseminate" means to make available by any means to any person.

      (b) "Imaging Device" means any electronic instrument capable of capturing, recording,

storing or transmitting visual images.

      (c) "Intimate areas" means the naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks,

or any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola of a person which the person

intended to be protected from public view.

      (d) "Legal entity" means any partnership, firm, association, corporation or any agent or

servant thereof.

      (e) "Publish" means to:

      (i) Disseminate with the intent that such image or images be made available by any

means to any person or other legal entity;

      (ii) Disseminate with the intent such images be sold by another person or legal entity;

      (iii) Post, present, display, exhibit, circulate, advertise or allow access by any means, so

as to make an image or images available to the public; or

      (iv) Disseminate with the intent that an image or images be posted, presented, displayed,

exhibited, circulated, advertised or made accessible by any means, and to make such images

available to the public.

      (f) "Sell" means to disseminate to another person, or to publish, in exchange for

something of value.

     (g) "Sexually explicit conduct" means actual:

     (1) Graphic sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or

oral-anal, or lascivious sexual intercourse where the genitals, or pubic area of any person is

exhibited;

     (2) Bestiality;

     (3) Masturbation; or

     (4) Sadistic or masochistic abuse.

     (h) "Visual image" means any photograph, picture, film, videotape, digital recording, or

other depiction, portrayal or representation of an object, including the human body.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 11-64 of the General Laws entitled "Electronic Imaging Devices"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     11-64-3. Unauthorized dissemination of indecent material. -- (a) A person is guilty of

unauthorized dissemination of indecent material when:

     (1) The person captures, records, stores, or receives a visual image depicting another

person eighteen (18) years of age or older engaged in sexually explicit conduct or of the intimate

areas of that person;

     (2) The visual image is captured, recorded, stored, or received with or without that

person's knowledge or consent and under such circumstances in which a reasonable person would

know or understand that the image was to remain private; and

     (3) The person by any means, intentionally disseminates, publishes, or sells such visual

image without the affirmative consent of the depicted person or persons in the visual image for no

legitimate purpose.

     (b) A third-party recipient of any visual image described in subsection (a) of this section

does not violate this section if, they did not have actual knowledge that the visual image was

intentionally disseminated, published, or sold in violation of subsection (a) of this section.

     (c) For the purposes of this section, "intimate areas" means the naked genitals, pubic area,

buttocks, or any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola of a person, which the

person intended to be protected from public view.

     (d) A first violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject

to imprisonment of not more than one year, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000),

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or both. A second or subsequent violation of this section shall be a felony and, upon conviction,

subject to imprisonment for not more than three (3) years, a fine of not more than three thousand

dollars ($3,000), or both.

     (e) Any person who intentionally threatens to disclose any visual image described in

subsection (a) of this section and makes the threat to obtain a benefit in return for not making the

disclosure or in connection with the threatened disclosure shall be guilty of a felony and, upon

conviction, be subject to imprisonment for up to five (5) years, a fine of up to five thousand

dollars ($5,000), or both.

     (f) Any person who demands payment of money, property, services or anything else of

value from a person in exchange for removing any visual image described in subsection (a) of this

section from public view shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, be subject to

imprisonment for up to five (5) years, a fine of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.

     (g) Those in violation of this section shall not be subject to sex offender registration

requirements set forth in §11-37.1-1 et seq., entitled "sexual offender registration and community

notification act."

     (h) The following activities are exempt from the provisions of this section:

     (1) The unauthorized dissemination of indecent material when the dissemination serves a

lawful purpose.

     (2) The unauthorized dissemination of indecent material when the dissemination is made

in the course of a lawful public proceeding.

     (3) The unauthorized dissemination of indecent material when the dissemination involves

voluntary nudity or sexual conduct in public or commercial settings or in a place where a person

does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

     (4) The unauthorized dissemination of indecent material when the dissemination is made

in the public interest, including the reporting of unlawful conduct, or lawful and common practice

of law enforcement, criminal reporting, corrections, legal proceedings, medical activities,

scientific activities, or educational activities.

     (5) The unauthorized dissemination of indecent material when the dissemination

constitutes a matter of public concern.

     (i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose liability on an interactive

computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. §230(f)(2), an information service, as defined in 47

U.S.C. §153, or a telecommunications service, as defined in §44-18-7.1(y)(i)(G), for content

provided by another person.

     (j) A violation of this section is committed within this state if any conduct that is an

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element of the offense, or any harm to the depicted person resulting from the offense, occurs

within this state.

     SECTION 3. This section shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - ELECTRONIC IMAGING DEVICES

***

     This act would prohibit a person from electronically disseminating visual images of

another engaged in sexually explicit conduct or the intimate parts of another, under such

circumstances in which a reasonable person would know or understand that the image was to

remain private and without the depicted person's affirmative consent. First violations would be a

misdemeanor and subsequent violations would be a felony, with maximum imprisonment of not

more than three (3) years.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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