Tennessee, the state that recently made it a crime to swap passwords on online entertainment networks like Netflix, has now criminalized posting photos that might cause viewers to become emotionally distressed.
The law makes it a criminal offense for anyone who "communicates with another person or transmits or displays an image in a manner in which there is a reasonable expectation that the image will be viewed by the victim." As for mens rea, a publisher must possess "malicious intent to frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" and must act without "legitimate purpose."
There are sure to be constitutional challenges to this law, which could have a chilling effect on many prevailing ethics in communication and entertainment, for surely establishing the 'legitimate purpose' element requires encroaching on well-established freedom of speech rights and also requires modifying or further complicating obscenity laws.
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