AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine is among about a dozen states considering so-called "revenge porn" legislation, which has already been enacted in 16 states.
The effort seeks to outlaw the dissemination of private, intimate photos or videos to harass or embarrass someone, often when a relationship ends.
Julia Colpitts, executive director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, says the bill is aimed at clearing up a gray area in Maine law.
"This is a very narrowly crafted bill, and there is no right to harrass, coerce, intimidate," Colpitts said. "All we are doing is extending that already existing limitation into digital space, and being specific about this behavior."
House GOP Leader Ken Fredette, of Newport, is the prime sponsor of the bill. He says there are hundreds of incidents of revenge porn already documented in Maine.
Fredette says Maine needs to make such behavior a crime. He is suggesting up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000.
"There are people out there that will say, to some degree, this is free speech," Fredette says. "I think this is a reasonable limitation in it. But obviously, here in Maine, we can't impact if somebody creates a website in Delaware or in Texas or in California. What we can do is try to address the conduct of people here in Maine that are doing this to people here in Maine."
