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

What Hawaii Law Says

Hawaii enacted its revenge porn law in 2014 under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 711-1110.9, titled "Violation of privacy in the first degree." In 2021 the law was expanded to cover realistic fake images that appear to show a real person. In 2026, Act 196 (signed July 7, 2026) added a separate offense, nonconsensual disclosure of intimate or private images. It applies when someone discloses or threatens to disclose an intimate image to force the person to do something, such as pay money, send more images, or engage in sexual acts, or when the person shown is a minor or vulnerable adult or suffers bodily injury. That offense is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $25,000.

The offense is a Class C felony, including on a first offense, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and fines up to $10,000. Hawaii's law recognizes that nonconsensual intimate image distribution causes serious harm.

Review the statute at the Hawaii Legislature website.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in Hawaii

Hawaii's statute defines the offense through these elements. The image must depict a person in a state of nudity or engaged in sexual conduct. The person must be identifiable. The distribution, or a threat to distribute, must occur without the consent of the depicted person. The offender must act knowingly, with intent to substantially harm the depicted person's health, safety, career, finances, reputation, or relationships, or as an act of revenge or retribution.

Hawaii's law applies to all methods of distribution, including social media platforms like Instagram and Reddit, messaging applications, websites, and email. The state's geographic isolation does not insulate victims from online distribution, as content posted anywhere on the internet is accessible globally.

How to Report

Hawaii victims should take these steps:

  1. Document everything — Screenshot all images, save URLs, record usernames and timestamps, and preserve any communications.
  2. File a police report — Contact the Honolulu Police Department, Maui Police Department, Hawaii Police Department (Big Island), or Kauai Police Department depending on your location. Reference HRS 711-1110.9.
  3. Contact the Prosecuting Attorney — Each county in Hawaii has a prosecuting attorney's office that handles criminal cases.
  4. Report to the FBI — File with the FBI IC3 for internet-based offenses.
  5. Seek a temporary restraining order — Hawaii courts can issue protective orders that address the distribution of intimate images.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Hawaii's criminal law provides a framework for prosecution, but the island state faces unique challenges. Law enforcement resources are distributed across multiple islands, and coordination between county police departments can be complex. Cases involving offenders on the mainland or overseas face significant jurisdictional hurdles.

The criminal process takes time, and during that period, intimate images remain online and accessible. Even a conviction does not result in automatic content removal from platforms. Hawaii's distance from the mainland can also make it harder to coordinate with platform legal teams and law enforcement in other jurisdictions.

The law requires proof that the offender intended to substantially harm the victim or acted out of revenge, which can be hard to show. This can leave victims feeling that the system does not adequately respond to their crisis.

Removing the Content

Parallel content removal is essential for Hawaii victims, given the limitations of the criminal process.

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 offers a free hashing tool that creates digital fingerprints of intimate images, which participating platforms use to block future uploads.

IntimaShield provides professional NCII removal services that handle takedowns across multiple platforms, search engine de-indexing. Optional Shield monitoring is a separate subscription for twice-weekly name-and-handle searches.

See also: California's revenge porn law for a Pacific state comparison.

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