There is no doubt that for victims of this crime, having their intimate images taken or shared without their consent can be a pernicious, degrading and offensive experience.
Is it a crime to share intimate videos of couples or ex-partners? The answer is affirmative, yes it is a crime, in fact the Penal Code punishes in article 197.7 with a penalty of imprisonment of 3 months to 1 year or a fine of 6 to 12 months to anyone without authorization of the affected person, disseminate, reveal or transfer to third parties images or audiovisual recordings of the one that they had obtained with their consent at a home or in any other place out of reach of the eyes of third parties in those cases in which the disclosure seriously impairs the personal privacy of that person.
Likewise, the second paragraph of article 197.7 contemplates the imposition of the penalty in its upper half when the acts were committed by the spouse or by a person who is or has been united to him by a similar emotional relationship, even without conscience, the victim was a minor or a person with a disability in need of special protection, or the acts had been carried out for profit.
What are the highlights? Without being exhaustive, it should be noted:
First of all, that the images or recordings have been obtained at a home or anywhere out of the reach of third parties , which in fact can be anywhere, let’s think of a video of sexual content recorded in a deserted cove .
Second, that the disclosure of the images or videos seriously undermines the personal privacy of the affected person .
Third, we must attend to the entity of the impairment , I mean the scope of communication, let’s think about the scope it can have on the internet.
What has the Supreme Court said about the crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets, that is, for spreading images without authorization that affect the privacy of a person? The Supreme Court considers that the person who disseminates images obtained with the victim’s permission that seriously affect their privacy is committing a crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets.
« The experience enseña – say the first – the existence of lovers Disgusted let them come from your partner – revenge porn – by broadcast im images that never were conceived for your vision by third parties leave us to that relationship ».
Am I giving up my privacy if I send a compromised photo or video to someone I trust? No, I am not giving up my privacy or sacrificing my privacy. In line with the statements, the Supreme Court declares that:
« Whoever sends a person in whom he trusts an expressive photo of his own privacy is not renouncing é this in advance. Nor are you irretrievably sacrificing your privacy. His gesture of confident surrender and selective exposure to a person whose loyalty he does not question does not deserve the punishment of exposure to collective snooping. ”
What should we do? It is our responsibility not only to protect our privacy but also that of others, therefore, if this type of videos or images ever comes into our possession, we must not forward them, because it is our responsibility to contribute to ending the non-consensual distribution of intimate images or videos and its negative effects.
For all this, from Guerra Bermúdez Abogados, as a firm specialized in Criminal Law, we can advise and accompany you in any situation that arises anywhere in Spain. CONSULT US, and an expert lawyer in Criminal Law will assist you in our offices in Madrid. Or call us at 91 308 86 41.