Revenge porn penalties considered in Colorado

Colorado is trying to stop so-called “revenge porn.”

The proposal is a second attempt this year to address this new concern brought on by technological advances. A bill before the state Legislature would make it a misdemeanor for adults to publish explicit pictures or videos of someone, causing them “serious emotional distress.” Offenders would also be fined at least $10,000 and be ordered to remove the images from the Internet.

The bill is scheduled for its first committee hearing next week.

About two dozen states have proposed bills to address the issue this year. An earlier version of Colorado’s bill focused only on minors, but the sponsor of the measure shelved it after prosecutors said it wasn’t needed because of exiting child exploitation laws.