N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 52-b: Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image

§ 52-b. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or

publication of an intimate image. 1. Any person depicted in a still or

video image, including an image created or altered by digitization,

regardless of whether or not the original still or video image was

consensually obtained, shall have a cause of action against an

individual who, for the purpose of harassing, annoying or alarming such

person, disseminated or published, or threatened to disseminate or

publish, such still or video image, where such image:

a. was taken when such person had a reasonable expectation that the

image would remain private; and

b. depicts (i) an unclothed or exposed intimate part of such person;

or (ii) such person engaging in sexual conduct, as defined in

subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law, with another person;

and

c. was disseminated or published, or threatened to be disseminated or

published, without the consent of such person.

2. In any action commenced pursuant to subdivision one of this

section, the finder of fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive

relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages and reasonable court

costs and attorney's fees.

3. This section shall not apply to the following:

a. the reporting of unlawful conduct;

b. dissemination or publication of an intimate still or video image

made during lawful and common practices of law enforcement, legal

proceedings or medical treatment;

c. images involving voluntary exposure in a public or commercial

setting; or

d. dissemination or publication of an intimate still or video image

made for a legitimate public purpose.

4. Any person depicted in a still or video image, including an image

created or altered by digitization, that depicts an unclothed or exposed

intimate part of such person, or such person engaging in sexual conduct

as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with

another person, which is disseminated or published without the consent

of such person and where such person had a reasonable expectation that

the image would remain private, may maintain an action or special

proceeding for a court order to require any website that is subject to

personal jurisdiction under subdivision five of this section to

permanently remove such still or video image; any such court order

granted pursuant to this subdivision may direct removal only as to

images that are reasonably within such website's control.

5. a. Any website that hosts or transmits a still or video image,

including an image created or altered by digitization, viewable in this

state, taken under circumstances where the person depicted had a

reasonable expectation that the image would remain private, which

depicts:

(i) an unclothed or exposed intimate part, as defined in section

245.15 of the penal law, of a resident of this state; or

(ii) a resident of this state engaging in sexual conduct as defined in

subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with another person;

and

b. Such still or video image is hosted or transmitted without the

consent of such resident of this state, shall be subject to personal

jurisdiction in a civil action in this state to the maximum extent

permitted under the United States constitution and federal law.

6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be

commenced the later of either:

a. three years after the dissemination or publication of an image; or

b. one year from the date a person discovers, or reasonably should

have discovered, the dissemination or publication of such image.

7. Nothing herein shall be read to require a prior criminal complaint,

prosecution or conviction to establish the elements of the cause of

action provided for by this section.

8. The provisions of this section are in addition to, but shall not

supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity.

9. If any provision of this section or its application to any person

or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other

provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect

without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the

provisions of this section are severable.

10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, or to

enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C § 230 confers on an interactive

computer service for content provided by another information content

provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.

11. For purposes of this section, "digitization" means the use of

software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other

computer-generated or technological means, including adapting,

modifying, manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.