Revenge Porn Laws in Arkansas: What Victims Need to Know in 2026

What Arkansas Law Says

Arkansas addresses revenge porn through Arkansas Code Section 5-26-314, which Act 981 of 2025 retitled "Unlawful distribution of an intimate image." The base offense is a Class A misdemeanor. It is a Class D felony if the offender had a purpose to cause physical injury or mental, economic, or reputational harm to the person depicted, or received anything of value for the offense. Repeat offenses can be a Class D or Class C felony.

A Class A misdemeanor in Arkansas carries up to 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. A Class D felony carries up to 6 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Section 5-26-314 does not itself create a civil claim for damages.

Review the 2025 amendment, Act 981 of 2025, on the Arkansas Legislature website.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in Arkansas

The Arkansas statute defines the offense through several elements. The content must be an intimate image, meaning an image, picture, or video showing an identifiable person in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct. The offender must be 18 or older and must purposely distribute the image without the consent of the person depicted. It is not a defense that the person depicted created the image, consented to its creation, or shared it with someone else.

The law covers all methods of distribution including internet platforms like Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter/X, as well as text messages, emails, and physical distribution. Since 2025, the base offense does not require proof of intent to harm. Purposeful distribution without consent is enough, and a purpose to cause harm raises the offense to a felony.

How to Report

Victims of revenge porn in Arkansas should take the following steps:

  1. Preserve all evidence — Screenshot every instance of the image, save URLs, document the offender's identity if known, and preserve any related communications.
  2. Contact local law enforcement — File a report with your city police department or county sheriff's office. Reference Arkansas Code 5-26-314.
  3. Contact the prosecuting attorney — Each judicial district in Arkansas has a prosecuting attorney who handles felony cases. You may contact their office directly.
  4. File with the FBI — Submit a report to the FBI IC3 for internet-based distribution.
  5. Consult a civil attorney — An attorney can tell you whether a civil claim for damages is available in your situation.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Even where the felony tier applies, criminal prosecution faces practical obstacles. Investigating digital crimes requires specialized resources that many rural Arkansas law enforcement agencies may lack. The process from report to prosecution can take many months, leaving victims exposed to ongoing harm while their images remain online.

Even when prosecution succeeds, a criminal conviction does not result in content removal. The court may order the defendant to remove images they posted, but cannot compel third-party platforms, especially those based outside the United States, to take down copies. Once an image enters the digital ecosystem, it can replicate across multiple sites faster than any legal process can address.

Anonymous posting, offshore hosting, and encrypted communications all present barriers to investigation. Victims who cannot identify their perpetrator face an even longer road, as law enforcement may need to obtain subpoenas from multiple platforms just to begin the identification process.

Removing the Content

Content removal requires direct action separate from the criminal case. Several tools and services can help victims address this urgently.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to remove qualifying intimate imagery and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies within 48 hours of a valid request. The platform and request must meet the law's requirements. See FTC guidance; this is not a universal service turnaround guarantee.

StopNCII.org provides a privacy-preserving hashing tool that enables participating platforms to proactively detect and block intimate images from being uploaded or shared.

IntimaShield delivers professional NCII removal services that file removal requests with each site and Google and Bing de-indexing requests for the links in your case. Optional Shield monitoring is a separate subscription for twice-weekly name-and-handle searches.

See also: Texas's revenge porn law for another Southern state's approach to felony-level penalties.

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