Part 1

Sexual Offences

Other offences

Sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film: exemptions
66C
1
A person (A) who shares a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person (B) in an intimate state does not commit an offence under section 66B(1), (2) or (3) if—
a
the photograph or film was taken in a place to which the public or a section of the public had or were permitted to have access (whether on payment or otherwise),
b
B had no reasonable expectation of privacy from the photograph or film being taken, and
c
B was, or A reasonably believes that B was, in the intimate state voluntarily.
2
For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), whether a person had a reasonable expectation of privacy from a photograph or film being taken is to be determined by reference to the circumstances that the person sharing the photograph or film reasonably believes to have existed at the time the photograph or film was taken.
3
A person (A) who shares a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person (B) in an intimate state does not commit an offence under section 66B(1), (2) or (3) if—
a
the photograph or film had, or A reasonably believes that the photograph or film had, been previously publicly shared, and
b
B had, or A reasonably believes that B had, consented to the previous sharing.
4
A person (A) who shares a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person (B) in an intimate state does not commit an offence under section 66B(1) if—
a
B is a person under 16,
b
B lacks, or A reasonably believes that B lacks, capacity to consent to the sharing of the photograph or film, and
c
the photograph or film is shared—
i
with a healthcare professional acting in that capacity, or
ii
otherwise in connection with the care or treatment of B by a healthcare professional.
5
A person who shares a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, a child in an intimate state does not commit an offence under section 66B(1) if the photograph or film is of a kind ordinarily shared between family and friends.
6
A person who threatens to share a photograph or film which shows, or appears to show, another person in an intimate state does not commit an offence under section 66B(4) if, by reason of this section, the person would not commit an offence under section 66B(1), (2) or (3) by sharing the photograph or film in the circumstances conveyed by the threat.
Ss. 66B-66D inserted (E.W.) (31.1.2024) by Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50), ss. 188, 240(1); S.I. 2024/31, reg. 2