Section 13 — Intimate image abuse

(1)In this Act, “intimate image abuse” means the communication of online material —

(a)that contains, without a person’s (called in this section the victim) consent —

(i)an intimate image or recording of the victim;

(ii)an offer to sell or distribute an intimate image or recording of the victim; or

(iii)an advertisement of an intimate image or recording of the victim; and

(b)that a reasonable person would conclude is likely to cause the victim harassment, alarm, distress or humiliation.

(2)In this section —“distribute” includes any of the following conduct, whether done in person, electronically, digitally or in any other way:

(a)to send, publish, supply, show, exhibit, transmit or communicate to another person;

(b)to make available for viewing or access by another person; “intimate image or recording”, in relation to a person —

(a)means an image or a recording (including an image or a recording that has been altered or generated by any means) —

(i)of the person’s genital or anal region, whether bare or covered by underwear;

(ii)of the person’s breasts if the person is a female, whether bare or covered by underwear; or

(iii)of the person doing a private act; but

(b)excludes an image or a recording that no reasonable person would believe depicts that person.Illustrations (a) A copies, crops, and pastes an image of B’s face onto the image of a body of a person who is engaging in a sexual act. This image has been altered to appear to show that B is engaged in the sexual act. This is an intimate image of B. (b) A pastes an image of B’s face onto a cartoon depicting an unknown person performing a sexual act. No reasonable person would believe that B was performing the sexual act. This is not an intimate image of B, but the communication of such an image may, depending on the circumstances, constitute online harassment.

(c)A uses digital means, including generative artificial intelligence technology, to create a realistic audiovisual representation of B engaging in a sexual act. This is an intimate recording of B.

(3)In this section, a person is doing a private act if, under circumstances in which the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, the person —

(a)is in a state where the person’s genital or anal region, or breasts (if the person is a female), are exposed or covered only by underwear;

(b)is using a toilet, showering or bathing; or

(c)is doing a sexual act that is not of a kind ordinarily done in public.Illustration A is showering in an open‑concept shower cubicle at the changing room of a swimming pool and cannot reasonably expect not to be casually observed. However, A has a reasonable expectation of privacy that A will not be recorded by a video camera and the recording communicated online. A is doing a private act.