The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed on March 21st legislation to prevent individuals from using photographic images and video to engage in abuse and/or exploitation of another for revenge.

The legislation, commonly referred to as the “revenge porn” bill, would criminalize the dissemination of sexually explicit material without the subject’s consent. The House and Senate have passed separate versions of the legislation so the bill will go to a conference committee.

If and when the Legislature passes a final version and the governor signs it, Massachusetts will no longer be one of only two states in the country that does not prohibit revenge porn.

The Senate bill, (S. 2703), creates a new criminal offense for disseminating sexually explicit material without the subject’s consent and establishes new education and diversion programs to deal with teen sexting. It also cracks down on “coercive control” by abusers.

During the debate, Senators considered 32 amendments but only adopted nine of them.  One of the amendments that was passed provides for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in this arena. The provision addresses cases in which individuals use artificial intelligence to create images or videos that depict situations, actions or speech that never really occurred, including nonconsensual sexual activity.

The House and Senate versions differ on the issue of teens and sexting. The House version would have the Attorney General’s office enforce this provision while the Senate version would give the responsibility to the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent executive branch agency with oversight and ombudsperson responsibilities, established in 2008.

The House proposal would also extend the statute of limitations from six years to 15 years for assault and battery on a family or household member or against someone with an active restraining order.

Why should employers care about this legislation?

Employers occasionally struggle with the legacy of workplace relationships between two employees going bad, leading to one of the employees threatening or actually distributing sexually compromising material about a coworker. This legislation would criminalize this behavior, , enabling employers to report the matter to local enforcement authorities for possible criminal prosecution. In some situations, it may help employers to strengthen their sexual harassment investigations by providing additional evidence.

AIM members wishing to discuss this or any other human resources issue may contact the AIM HR Helpline at 1-800-470-6277.