AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas appeals court has ruled unconstitutional a state law that punishes those who post intimate images from previous or current relationships online without consent.
The 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler dismissed the revenge porn law Wednesday, saying it violates the First Amendment by restricting expression based on the content of photographs and videos shared online.
The court also ordered a revenge porn charge to be dropped against Jordan Bartlett Jones. Court records show Jones challenged the law as unconstitutional while awaiting trial for sharing a naked photograph of a woman without consent.
The ruling only blocks the law in Northeast Texas counties under the 12th Court of Appeals.
Legislators passed the Relationship Privacy Act in 2015, making revenge porn a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.