'Revenge porn' bill clears House Judiciary panel

BOISE - Despite concerns from the ACLU of Idaho, Rep. Luke Malek's bill targeting "revenge pornography" gained the House Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee's approval Monday.

If it becomes law, House Bill 563 would amend the Video Voyeurism Act in Idaho further protect individual privacy, according to Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene. Malek said the legislation would outlaw the use of pornography for "revenge, extortion, humiliation."

Passing along a photograph from an infamous political scandal wouldn't constitute a violation of Malek's proposed law, in Malek's opinion.

"So, if you get a Tweet of Anthony Weiner and then pass it along, is there liability in here?" said Malek. "My contention is, absolutely not."

But the legislation's language was "over-broad," according to American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho Executive Director Monica Hopkins - and in Hopkins' view if it becomes law it would infringe on First Amendment Rights.

"Basically, given the bill's broad language, that would criminalize protected speech," Hopkins said.

She added: "Basically what this bill thinks to curb is what is known now as revenge porn territory. And, as it's written, it's likely over-broad, meaning it captures and criminalizes a chunk of protected free speech."

Saying that, "nude pictures are not inherently obscene," Hopkins cited examples such as nude celebrity photos of Madonna early in her career, some images of Marilyn Monroe and Lindsay Lohan, and an image in photojournalism of a naked child fleeing chemical weapons in Vietnam.

"The ACLU is working right now in multiple states to see how we can actually support these kinds of bills; work with their sponsors to narrowly tailor the bills in order to not infringe on First Amendment Rights," Hopkins said.

While Hopkins requested "that this bill be held in committee," so the ACLU could work with Malek to improve it, the HB563 version presented by Malek on Monday received a unanimous vote of approval in the House Judiciary Committee.

"I feel that we have a responsibility as a society, not just here in this room, but as a society, to be more responsible in our posts, in our tweets, in our texts," said Rep. Kelley Packer, R-McCammon, who made the motion to promote HB563 to the House floor. "We have a responsibility to be careful in the things we share with others, and how it may affect others' lives."