Supreme Court Could Rule on Whether 'Revenge Porn' Is Protected Speech (XBIZ)

Read the full article by Drew Fox at XBIZ.com 

LOS ANGELES — The United States Supreme Court may soon rule on the constitutionality of revenge porn law.

In a Washington Post article published yesterday, the case of Bethany Austin was discussed. Austin, an Illinois resident, was charged with the felony of "nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images" by an Illinois court. She had discovered her fiance had cheated on her, and after the fiance attempted to paint her as "crazy," she sent both of their families four pages of text messages between her fiance and his lover. The pages also included nude pictures of the woman the fiance had been cheating with.

Austin challenged the ruling on the grounds that Illinois' revenge porn law "was an unconstitutional restriction of her freedom of speech," said Post writer Deanna Paul.

Two years after being charged, the original trial court dismissed the charge against Austin. The Illinois Supreme Court, however, reversed the ruling, and the charge was reinstated. In a 5-2 ruling, the court decided that the law meant to protect the privacy of the victim could not be constitutionally protected free speech.