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UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1440
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XXXX 3/3/2026 11:36 AM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to malicious distribution of images without consent. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 531 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) A person is guilty of malicious distribution of images without consent when: 5
(a) He or she uses a computer to intentionally distribute to any website or 6
application, an image, including a publicly available image, without the 7
consent of the person depicted, and does so with the intent to: 8
1. Sexually arouse or sexually gratify another person; 9
2. Degrade, exploit, or abuse the person depicted; or 10
3. Invite or encourage comments from another person that would 11
express intent or fantasies that are sexual, abusive, physically 12
punishing, or otherwise illegal toward or involving the person 13
depicted; and 14
(b) The disclosure would cause a reasonable person to suffer harm. 15
(2) This section shall not apply to internet service providers or telecommunications 16
services, or interactive computer services as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 230(f)(2), 17
for content solely provided by another person. 18
(3) Malicious distribution of images without consent is a Class B misdemeanor. 19
(4) Notwithstanding KRS 17.500 to 17.580, a conviction under this section shall not 20
result in the offender being deemed a registrant or being required to register as a 21
sex offender. 22
(5) For purposes of this section, "consent" means the consent to transmission of 23
images to a specific recipient or any website or application. Consent to the 24
creation of the image does not, by itself, constitute consent to th e distribution of 25
the image. 26