WASHINGTON — A proposed law that would punish people who publish “revenge porn” online will likely be put forth in the next Congress, but it remains to be seen how effective the measure — if passed — would be in combating the practice on America’s college campuses.
“We are totally aware of the huge problem on campus of sexual assault and this sort of conduct on campuses as well,” said Josh Connolly, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who introduced the bill — known as the “Intimate Privacy Protection Act,” or IPPA — earlier this year and plans to do so again next session.
While sexual assaults on campus are often handled by Title IX coordinators, Connolly said he didn’t foresee that happening if the revenge porn bill becomes law. He said the “default” should be to have attorneys general or district attorneys handle the cases.
“Regarding any sort of jurisdictional ambiguity, we don’t really foresee that,” Connolly said. “I think it is solidly within a DA or an AG’s jurisdiction of whether or not to take a case or not, and we would encourage them to do so.”
Connolly made his remarks Friday during a panel discussion on Capitol Hill titled “Outlawing Revenge Porn: How Congress Can Protect Privacy and Reduce Online Harassment.”
The discussion comes at a time when sex video scandals — sometimes with costly and tragic results — are making more and more headlines.
People of all ages have become ensnared in the practice in which perpetrators post images or videos of their victims nude or engaged in sex acts.
