DOI: 10.4018/IJT.2017070103 International Journal of Technoethics Volume 8 • Issue 2 • July-December 2017 Copyright © 2017, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. “Revenge Porn”: An Analysis of Legislative and Policy Responses Terry Goldsworthy, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia Matthew Raj, Faculty of Law, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia Joseph Crowley, Faculty of Law, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia ABSTRACT Currently, a range of criminal offences are perpetrated online. In addition to the commission of traditional offences, such as fraud, stalking, and domestic violence, new phenomena have emerged to warrant attention from the media, government, and communities. The phenomenon colloquially referred to as ‘revenge porn’ stands as one of the greater threats to public morality. To date, legislative responses to circumscribe revenge porn, both internationally and in Australia, have been sporadic and disjunctive. This article critically examines the impact and prevalence of revenge porn and provides a critical analysis of the civil and criminal responses to its commission. It concludes by arguing that addressing the challenges associated with investigating such offences, and educating about the dangers of revenge porn have to some extent been overlooked in the rush to legislate and create new offences. The article highlights that existing legislation may provide adequate protection. KeywoRdS Cybercrime, Intimate Images, Privacy, Revenge Porn, Social Media INTRodUCTIoN Our use of new technologies and the Internet is becoming more frequent and, indeed, pervasive. The global Internet population has grown from 2.1 billion in 2012 to 3.4 billion in 2016 (James, 2016). With this increase in the use of new technology comes the risk of greater opportunities for criminal behaviour. New technology is facilitating offences, both old and new. This article provides a summary of the growing trend in revenge porn type offences committed and, indeed, facilitated by new technology. It provides a critical analysis of the policy and legislative responses to such offences. It concludes by arguing that simply creating new specific offences may not be effective in dealing with this phenomenon and a wider response is needed. Such a response needs to focus on better law enforcement responses, and education and awareness in the community. THe eMeRGeNCe oF ReVeNGe PoRN Revenge pornography atypically involves the following: an existing or previous relationship, an intent to cause harm, the unauthorised public release of an intimate image, and the act of releasing the intimate image is facilitated by technology. While this is neither a legal definition nor an exhaustive one, it captures the traditional concept and, indeed, wide-spread perception of revenge porn. In 2010, digital 26