Albuquerque Journal

Calif. lawmaker seeks ban on unwanted nude photos

- BY ADAM BEAM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When she was elected to the California state Assembly, Ling Ling Chang publicly posted her cellphone number to get feedback from her constituen­ts.

It worked, but it came with a dark side effect: unwanted nude photos from strangers.

Exposing yourself on the street is a crime, but the law is less clear when it happens in the digital realm. Earlier this year, Texas outlawed sending unwanted nude photos to people through dating apps or other digital means, making it a Class C misdemeano­r with a fine of up to $500.

Now Chang, who has since been elected to the state Senate, wants to make that act illegal in California. The senator announced Thursday that she was partnering with the dating app Bumble to introduce legislatio­n in January when state lawmakers return to work.

“I’d say 95% of the women I have talked to have experience­d something like this,” said Chang, a Republican whose district includes portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. “We have to send a message that this culture of online harassment must go.”

A survey by the Pew Research Center in 2017 found 21% of women ages 18 to 29 have reported being sexually harassed online compared to 9% of men in that same age group. About 53% of those women said they had been sent unwanted explicit photos.

Like most states, California outlaws “revenge porn.” But that law applies to when someone posts a nude photo online of someone else with the intent “to cause emotional distress.” California also outlaws stalking using electronic devices, such as cellphones, but the law does not specifical­ly address unwanted nude or lewd photos.

In 2017, then-California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law requiring online dating apps to post safety tips, including ways to report concerns.

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd worked to get the Texas law passed earlier this year. She called these unsolicite­d lewd photos “harassment, plain and simple.”

“It’s a gateway to more extreme forms of harassment and abuse, and it should not be taken lightly, and it deserves consequenc­es,” she said.

Bumble says it has 80 million users worldwide. It is like other dating apps, but it allows only women to initiate conversati­ons with potential partners. The company says this eliminates most unwanted, aggressive behavior from men toward women.

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