2023 New York Laws › CVR - Civil Rights › Article 5 - Right of Privacy › 52-B - Private Right of Action for Unlawful Dissemination or Publication of an Intimate Image.

§  52-b.  Private  right  of  action  for  unlawful  dissemination  or
publication of an intimate image. 1.  Any person depicted in a still  or
video  image,  including  an  image  created or altered by digitization,
regardless of whether or not the  original  still  or  video  image  was
consensually   obtained,  shall  have  a  cause  of  action  against  an
individual who, for the purpose of harassing, annoying or alarming  such
person,  disseminated  or  published,  or  threatened  to disseminate or
publish, such still or video image, where such image:
a. was taken when such person had a reasonable  expectation  that  the
image would remain private; and
b.  depicts  (i) an unclothed or exposed intimate part of such person;
or  (ii)  such  person  engaging  in  sexual  conduct,  as  defined   in
subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law, with another person;
and
c.  was disseminated or published, or threatened to be disseminated or
published, without the consent of such person.
2. In any  action  commenced  pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of  this
section,  the  finder  of  fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive
relief, punitive damages,  compensatory  damages  and  reasonable  court
costs and attorney's fees.
3. This section shall not apply to the following:
a. the reporting of unlawful conduct;
b.  dissemination  or  publication of an intimate still or video image
made during lawful  and  common  practices  of  law  enforcement,  legal
proceedings or medical treatment;
c.  images  involving  voluntary  exposure  in  a public or commercial
setting; or
d. dissemination or publication of an intimate still  or  video  image
made for a legitimate public purpose.
4.  Any  person depicted in a still or video image, including an image
created or altered by digitization, that depicts an unclothed or exposed
intimate part of such person, or such person engaging in sexual  conduct
as  defined  in  subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with
another person, which is disseminated or published without  the  consent
of  such  person and where such person had a reasonable expectation that
the image would remain  private,  may  maintain  an  action  or  special
proceeding  for  a court order to require any website that is subject to
personal  jurisdiction  under  subdivision  five  of  this  section   to
permanently  remove  such  still  or  video  image; any such court order
granted pursuant to this subdivision  may  direct  removal  only  as  to
images that are reasonably within such website's control.
5.  a.  Any  website  that  hosts or transmits a still or video image,
including an image created or altered by digitization, viewable in  this
state,  taken  under  circumstances  where  the  person  depicted  had a
reasonable expectation  that  the  image  would  remain  private,  which
depicts:
(i)  an  unclothed  or  exposed  intimate  part, as defined in section
245.15 of the penal law, of a resident of this state; or
(ii) a resident of this state engaging in sexual conduct as defined in
subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with another  person;
and
b.  Such  still  or  video  image is hosted or transmitted without the
consent of such resident of this state, shall  be  subject  to  personal
jurisdiction  in  a  civil  action  in  this state to the maximum extent
permitted under the United States constitution and federal law.
6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be
commenced the later of either:
a. three years after the dissemination or publication of an image; or
b. one year from the date a person  discovers,  or  reasonably  should
have discovered, the dissemination or publication of such image.
7. Nothing herein shall be read to require a prior criminal complaint,
prosecution  or  conviction  to  establish  the elements of the cause of
action provided for by this section.
8. The provisions of this section are in addition to,  but  shall  not
supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity.
9.  If  any provision of this section or its application to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not  affect  other
provisions  or  applications  of  this section which can be given effect
without the invalid provision  or  application,  and  to  this  end  the
provisions of this section are severable.
10.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to limit, or to
enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C § 230 confers on  an  interactive
computer  service  for  content  provided by another information content
provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
11. For purposes of this section,  "digitization"  means  the  use  of
software,  machine  learning,  artificial  intelligence,  or  any  other
computer-generated   or   technological   means,   including   adapting,
modifying, manipulating, or altering a realistic depiction.