Over the weekend, a hacker posted nude photos of actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, which were believed to be stolen from their i-Cloud accounts. Lawrence contacted authorities regarding the photos, and the FBI says it is investigating the claims.

This is not the first time that revealing photos of a celebrity have been hacked, and posted to the internet. In December of 2012, Christopher Chaney was sentenced to ten years in prison after he hacked into the email accounts of various celebrities and co-workers, stole nude photographs from those email accounts, and posted them onto the internet.

Lawrence’s publicist told the Huffington Post that “The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”

It may surprise some that simply re-posting the photographs could constitute a criminal offense. A growing number of States are now criminalizing ‘revenge porn,’ which is generally defined as posting nude, or sexually explicit photographs of someone without their consent, even when the photograph was originally taken with the person’s consent. Illinois does not currently criminalize revenge porn, but that is likely to be short lived. In the last nine months, three such Bills have been introduced to the Illinois House and Senate. 

If you have questions regarding the proposed legislation, give us a call at LauraLaw.