People can sue over harmful sharing of private intimate images

People harmed by intentional sharing or threats to share a private intimate image without permission can sue. Covered images show certain exposed private body parts or sexual activity. Harm includes emotional distress alone. Private images include those obtained through theft or access beyond what was allowed. The person responsible must know the image is private, the person pictured is recognizable, and that person did not consent. The liability exceptions described below apply. Agreeing to make or previously share an image does not by itself permit further sharing or remove privacy rights. People retain a reasonable expectation of privacy when the pictured sexual activity or exposure happened without their consent, even in public.

The law exempts certain disclosures and threats from liability. Being a public figure does not alone make an intimate image a matter of public interest. The law preserves federal internet liability rules and Utah’s rules protecting governments from lawsuits. Exceptions cover good-faith law enforcement, court proceedings, medical education or treatment, and reporting or investigating unlawful or unwelcome conduct. They also cover matters of public interest and sharing reasonably intended to help the person pictured. Parents, guardians, and legal custodians have an exception for images of children under 18 who are not legally independent. It fails if the person suing proves the disclosure broke another law or served sexual purposes, humiliation, degradation, or financial gain. Internet, search, and cloud providers have protection solely for listed access, transmission, and storage activities involving images they did not create on the internet or systems outside their control.

Courts can award money and orders to people who win and can protect their privacy during the lawsuit. The $10,000 limit applies to the court-set alternative, not compensation for proven harm. Other rights and remedies under Utah law remain available. A winner may recover the greater of compensation for harm caused by the disclosure or threat or a court-set award up to $10,000 per defendant for all covered disclosures and threats, plus the defendant’s profits and damages intended to punish wrongdoing. The court-set award considers the parties’ ages, the number of disclosures or threats, how widely the image spread, and other factors that worsen or lessen the harm. Courts may also award lawyer fees and orders to stop sharing. They may hide identifying details in court papers, but the person suing must provide those details confidentially to the court and defendant. The filing deadline is four years after discovering, or reasonably being able to discover, a disclosure. For threats, it is four years after the threat was disclosed. Rules that pause filing deadlines apply.