President Higgins enacts legislation criminalizing the sharing of intimate images without consent

PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has signed new legislation criminalizing the sharing of intimate images without consent.

The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Crimes Bill of 2017 covers a wide range of crimes, including online abuse, cyberbullying, and image-based abuse.

It is known as Coco’s Law in honor of Nicole ‘Coco’ Fox Fenlon, who took her own life in 2018 after a period of prolonged online abuse.

It will provide for two new crimes related to the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

The first offense will refer to the taking, distribution, publication or threat to distribute intimate images without consent and with the intention of causing harm to the victim. It will carry a maximum penalty of unlimited fine and / or 7 years in prison.

The second crime refers to the taking, distribution or publication of intimate images without consent without the requirement that the person intended to cause harm to the victim. It will be sanctioned with a maximum penalty of 5,000 euros in fine and / or 12 months in prison.

Existing laws will also be updated in the area of ​​harassment, expanding the scope of the crime of harassment to cover all forms of persistent communication about a person. The most serious forms of harassment will now be punishable by seven to ten years in prison.

President Higgins signed the bill today and it has become law accordingly.

The bill was supported by all parties and quickly made its way into the Oireachtas in recent weeks.

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With reporting by Sean Murray