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

What Mississippi Law Says

Mississippi has a specific revenge porn statute. Senate Bill 2121, effective July 1, 2021, made it a crime to disclose intimate visual material without consent. It is codified at Mississippi Code Section 97-29-64.1, with definitions in Section 97-29-64. Other statutes can also apply depending on the facts.

Under that statute, a first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A second or later offense, or any offense committed for financial profit, is a felony punishable by up to one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. The statute also covers threatening to disclose such images to obtain a benefit, and promoting them on a website the offender owns or operates.

Mississippi Code Section 97-45-15 covers cyberstalking, which can apply when images are used to threaten or harass. Cyberstalking is a felony in Mississippi, punishable by up to 2 years in prison and fines up to $5,000, or up to 5 years and $10,000 in aggravated cases such as a prior conviction or a violated protective order. Additionally, Section 97-29-45 addresses obscene electronic communications, and Section 97-3-107 covers stalking, both of which can apply to revenge porn situations depending on the circumstances. Victims of NCII distribution should be aware of these alternative legal pathways.

Read the 2021 law, Senate Bill 2121, on the Mississippi Legislature website.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in Mississippi

Under Section 97-29-64.1, the prosecution must show that the offender disclosed visual material showing the person's intimate parts or sexual conduct, without consent and with intent to harm the person. The offender must have known or had reason to believe the material was obtained or created where the person had a reasonable expectation that it would remain private. The disclosure must cause harm and must reveal the person's identity in some way. Consent to creating the material, or sending it to the offender voluntarily, is not a defense.

Under the obscene electronic communications statute, prosecutors can argue that the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images constitutes the transmission of obscene, lewd, or lascivious material with intent to harass. These other statutes can matter when the facts fall outside the 2021 law.

The 2021 law has limits. It requires intent to harm and proof that the disclosure caused harm, and its text does not mention AI-generated or digitally altered images. A single disclosure can be charged under it, while the cyberstalking statute generally requires threats, repeated communications, or false statements. The law covers distribution through platforms like Reddit and Instagram.

How to Report

Mississippi victims should take these steps:

  1. Document everything thoroughly — Because the legal framework is less specific, comprehensive documentation is especially important. Screenshot all images, save URLs, record account information, and preserve every communication.
  2. File a police report — Contact your local police department or county sheriff. Explain the situation and reference Section 97-29-64.1 and any other applicable laws, such as the cyberstalking statute (Section 97-45-15).
  3. Contact the district attorney — Each judicial district in Mississippi has a DA who can evaluate which charges are most appropriate.
  4. Report to the FBI — File with the FBI IC3 for internet-based distribution.
  5. Seek a protective order — Mississippi courts can issue protective orders under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act that address ongoing harassment.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Mississippi's statute is narrower than some states' laws. Prosecutors must prove intent to harm and that the disclosure caused harm, and a first offense is a misdemeanor with up to 6 months in jail. This can make prosecution more difficult and outcomes less predictable.

When the facts fall outside the 2021 law, other statutes have their own limits. The cyberstalking statute generally requires threats, repeated communications, or false statements. The obscenity standard has its own legal complexities, as courts have historically struggled to define what constitutes obscene material. Some clear cases of revenge porn may still be difficult to prosecute.

Even when prosecution succeeds under these alternative statutes, the fundamental limitation remains: criminal conviction does not remove content from the internet. Images persist on platforms, in search results, and across the web regardless of the legal outcome.

Removing the Content

Given the legal limitations in Mississippi, content removal services are particularly important for victims.

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 enables victims to create digital hashes of their images that participating platforms use to block matching content.

IntimaShield offers professional NCII removal services that are especially valuable in states like Mississippi where the legal framework is less robust, handling multi-platform takedowns, search engine de-indexing, and follow-up while the content stays up.

See also: Alabama's revenge porn law for a neighboring state comparison.

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