---
title: "To Do: Combat Revenge Porn"
summary: |-
  Congress should criminalize nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit images; create a special FBI unit to assist victims; and direct the Justice Department to work with the private sector on best practices for quickly removing nonconsensual pornography.
date: "2015-07-15"
issues: ["Privacy", "Internet"]
content_type: "Knowledge Base Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2015/07/15/to-do-combat-revenge-porn/"
---

# To Do: Combat Revenge Porn

# Recommendation

Congress should criminalize nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit images; create a special FBI unit to assist victims; and direct the Justice Department to work with the private sector on best practices for quickly removing nonconsensual pornography.

# Details

The distribution of sexually explicit images without a subject’s consent, commonly referred to as “revenge porn,” exists in a legal gray area in much of the country, such that victims have few options for recourse, and perpetrators go unpunished. To reverse this trend, Congress should pass legislation that makes revenge porn a federal crime. Congress also should create a special unit in the Federal Bureau of Investigations to assist victims of nonconsensual pornography and pursue the worst offenders, since local law-enforcement officials are often unprepared to respond swiftly. Finally, Congress should direct the Department of Justice to partner with the private sector to identify and disseminate best practices for addressing this problem.

**Keep reading:**

- Daniel Castro and Alan McQuinn, “Why and How Congress Should Outlaw Revenge Porn” (ITIF, July 2015), [https://itif.org/publications/2015/07/15/why-and-how-congress-should-outlaw-revenge-porn](https://itif.org/publications/2015/07/15/why-and-how-congress-should-outlaw-revenge-porn).

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2015/07/15/to-do-combat-revenge-porn/*