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

What Minnesota Law Says

Minnesota addresses revenge porn under Minnesota Statutes Section 617.261, titled "Nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images." The law classifies the offense as a gross misdemeanor for a first offense.

A gross misdemeanor in Minnesota carries penalties of up to 364 days in jail and fines up to $3,000. If the offender has a prior conviction, the offense becomes a felony, punishable by up to 3 years in prison and fines up to $5,000. The same higher penalty applies if the victim suffers financial loss, the image is shared with intent to profit or to harass, the image is posted on a website, the offender runs a website or app used to share it, or the image was obtained through theft, interference with privacy, or unauthorized computer access. Minnesota provides strong protections against NCII distribution with its escalating penalty structure.

Review the statute at the Minnesota Legislature website.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in Minnesota

Minnesota's statute defines the offense through these elements. The content must be a sexual image depicting nudity or sexual conduct. The image was obtained in circumstances where the depicted person had a reasonable expectation of privacy. The offender intentionally disseminated the image. The dissemination was without the consent of the depicted person. The offender knew or reasonably should have known that the person did not consent.

Minnesota's law covers all distribution methods, including social media platforms like Instagram and Reddit, websites, text messages, and email. The statute does not require proof of intent to harm, which makes prosecution more straightforward than in states with an intent requirement.

How to Report

Minnesota victims should follow these steps:

  1. Preserve all evidence — Screenshot images, save URLs, record account details, and keep all communications.
  2. File a police report — Contact your local police department or county sheriff. Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments have units that handle cybercrime. Reference Minnesota Statute 617.261.
  3. Contact the county attorney — Each county has an elected county attorney who handles criminal prosecutions.
  4. Report to the FBI — File with the FBI IC3 for internet-based distribution.
  5. Seek a harassment restraining order — Minnesota courts issue restraining orders under Section 609.748 that can address the distribution of intimate images.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Minnesota's law provides a solid legal framework, but the criminal process has inherent limitations. Gross misdemeanor cases may receive lower priority than felonies in the criminal justice system. Investigations require time and resources, particularly when digital forensics are needed to identify anonymous offenders.

Content remains online throughout the criminal process, which can take months. Even a successful conviction does not trigger automatic content removal from platforms or search engines. The court can order the defendant to delete images, but this does not reach copies on other platforms or cached versions in search results.

Minnesota's "reasonably should have known" standard is more victim-friendly than strict knowledge requirements, but still requires evidence that the offender was aware, or should have been aware, that consent was not given.

Removing the Content

Content removal should be pursued immediately and independently.

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 allows victims to create digital hashes of their images that participating platforms can use to detect matching uploads.

IntimaShield offers professional NCII removal services covering multi-platform takedowns and search engine de-indexing. Ongoing monitoring is a separate Shield subscription.

See also: Illinois's revenge porn law for a Midwest comparison.

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