Revenge Porn Laws in New Jersey: What Victims Need to Know in 2026

What New Jersey Law Says

New Jersey has one of the strongest revenge porn laws in the nation under New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2C:14-9, titled "Invasion of privacy." The law classifies the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images as a third-degree crime.

A third-degree crime in New Jersey carries a sentence of 3 to 5 years in state prison and fines up to $30,000. New Jersey was one of the first states to enact a revenge porn law, and its felony-level classification with substantial prison time makes it one of the toughest in the country. The law provides strong criminal consequences for NCII distribution.

Review the statute text at Justia, an unofficial copy.

What Counts as Revenge Porn in New Jersey

New Jersey's statute defines the offense through these elements. The image must show a person engaged in sexual penetration or sexual contact, a person whose intimate parts are exposed, or a person's undergarment-clad intimate parts. Under the current text, the image must have been taken in violation of subsection b, meaning recorded without the person's consent in circumstances where a reasonable person would not expect to be observed. The offender disclosed the image knowing they were not licensed or privileged to do so. The depicted person did not consent to the disclosure.

New Jersey's law does not require proof of intent to harm or harass. The law covers all distribution methods, including social media platforms like Reddit and Instagram, websites, messaging services, and email.

How to Report

New Jersey victims should take these steps:

  1. Document all evidence — Screenshot images, save URLs, record account information, and preserve all communications.
  2. File a police report — Contact your local police department or county prosecutor's office. Reference NJSA 2C:14-9. Major departments like Newark and Jersey City police have specialized units.
  3. Contact the county prosecutor — New Jersey's county prosecutors handle indictable offenses (the equivalent of felonies). Each county has a prosecutor's office you can contact directly.
  4. Report to the FBI — File with the FBI IC3 for internet-based distribution.
  5. Seek a final restraining order — New Jersey courts can issue restraining orders under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act that address the distribution of intimate images.

Limitations of Criminal Law

Despite New Jersey's strong penalties, the criminal justice process has inherent limitations. Third-degree crime prosecutions involve grand jury proceedings, which add time and complexity. The path from report to conviction can take many months to over a year, during which images remain available online.

Identifying anonymous offenders requires digital forensic investigation. Cases involving out-of-state perpetrators require interstate cooperation. Even with New Jersey's robust law, a conviction does not automatically remove content from the internet. Each platform requires a separate takedown request.

New Jersey's proximity to New York and Pennsylvania means cases often involve cross-state distribution, adding jurisdictional complexity to investigations.

Removing the Content

Content removal is an urgent priority independent 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 provides a hashing tool that participating platforms use to block matching images. It works only on participating platforms.

IntimaShield delivers professional NCII removal services managing multi-platform takedowns, search engine de-indexing. Optional Shield monitoring is a separate subscription for twice-weekly name-and-handle searches.

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

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