Amber Heard wants non-consensual sharing of nude pictures punishable by up to five years in prison as she tells lawmakers in Washington DC of her devastation after 2014 iCloud leak
- Amber Heard spoke at Capitol Hill Visitor Center in Washington DC Wednesday
- Heard said: 'Non-consensual porn is one of the worst violations of privacy'
- Actress complained it 'disproportionately affects women around the world'
- Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution (SHIELD) Act would give prosecutors tools to bring revenge porn perpetrators to justice
- Heard spoke about 'devastating consequences' beside Reps sponsoring the bill
- The 33-year-old was one of many celebrities whose iCloud photos were posted on 4chan by hackers in August 2014
- She continues to be 'harassed, stalked and humiliated by the theft' of her images
Amber Heard wants non-consensual pornography punishable by up to five years in prison and spoke in Washington DC Wednesday about why the SHIELD Act should be introduced into federal law.
The actress – who was one of many stars whose nude photographs were leaked online by hackers in 2014 – took to the Capitol Hill Visitor Center to support Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution.
'Non-consensual porn is one of the worst violations of privacy and it doesn't discriminate, instead it disproportionately affects women around the world with devastating consequences,' Heard said in her speech as she was flanked by bill sponsors Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.).
'Intimate content released into the internet is virtually impossible to remove, further subjecting victims to harassment and judgment from strangers and acquaintances alike.'
Heard made her speech as she was flanked by bill sponsors Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.).
Heard was one of many celebrities whose iCloud photos were posted on 4chan by hackers in August 2014. She is pictured in September 2014 (left with now-ex husband Johnny Depp)
This bipartisan legislation seeks to address the exploitation of private, sexually explicit or nude images often referred to as 'revenge porn' or 'sextortion.'
It would ensure that the Department of Justice has an appropriate and effective tool to address privacy violations and narrowly establish federal criminal liability for individuals who share private, sexually explicit or nude images without consent.
It also aims to strike an effective balance between protecting the victims and ensuring that vibrant online speech is not burdened.
Heard hopes it will deter people from violating the privacy of others.
'It can result and often does in devastating and economic, social psychological consequences,' Heard added. 'My stolen and manipulated photos are still online to this day, posted again and again with sexually explicit and humiliating and degrading headlines about my body, about myself.'
Heard spoke about even her mother having access to her private images shared with the world during The Fappening scandal of August 2014 where iCloud photos from the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Kirsten Dunst were leaked to website 4chan.
Rep. Speier introduced the very first bill to tackle the issue in the 114th Congress, as the Intimate Privacy Protection Act (IPPA) of 2016. She's pictured April 30
Companion legislation will be introduced in the Senate by Senator Kamala Harris (pictured right Wednesday in New York). Heard (pictured in Cannes May 17) spoke about the severe consequences to her 'personal safety, dignity and livelihood'
'I continue to be harassed, stalked and humiliated by the theft of those images,' she said. 'The consequences to my personal safety, dignity and livelihood are severe,'
'My relationships, my family, my profession, my opportunities, and moreover, my expectations for bodily autonomy and liberty are forever compromised.'
Rep. Speier introduced the very first bill to tackle the issue in the 114th Congress, as the Intimate Privacy Protection Act (IPPA) of 2016. Companion legislation will be introduced in the Senate by Senator Kamala Harris.
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Professor, Danielle Citron, shared pictures and video from the event on Twitter. The Author of Hate Crimes in Cyberspace (HUP) called the speakers 'brilliant women'.
It comes after in February the Senate Bill 1719C was passed in New York. Under it bad actors could get sentenced to a year in prison and/or be fined $1,000 for sharing explicit pictures of others to cause 'emotional, financial, or physical' harm.
Victims could file a civil or federal lawsuit (or both) against the perpetrator.
The victim could also get a court order demanding that websites – including Google and Facebook – permanently remove the offending material despite the sites being protected by the Communications Decency Act.
'When someone's intimate images are shared without their permission it can be devastating,' Antigone Davis, Global Head of Safety at Facebook said in a statement about SHIELD Wednesday.
'We have zero tolerance for it on Facebook and, around the country, states have passed legislation to criminalize this abhorrent practice. We stand with safety and consumer advocates in pushing for the same at the federal level and applaud Representative Speier and her colleagues for leading the way.'
David White, the National Executive Director of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said in a statement: 'SAG-AFTRA represents 160,000 actors, singers, dancers, broadcasters and recording artists who are at high risk of being victimized by image-based sexual abuse.
'The decision to appear nude in any photographic or video content is a serious decision for any person, and it is a human rights violation for this choice to be taken away from them.'
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