Report from justice minister recommends changes to ‘intimate images’ legislation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/11/2024 (329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A legislative review of the Intimate Images Protection Act that came into force in 2016 recommends several changes to the law, including broadening the definition of “intimate images.”

The law defines an intimate image as a picture or recording in which a person is nude, partially nude or engaged in explicit sexual activity that was made in circumstances that gave rise to an expectation of privacy in the picture or recording.

A report tabled in the legislature Wednesday by Justice Minister Matt Wiebe suggested that “nearly nude” images should be included in the definition — someone wearing underwear or a towel, for example. The report that was prepared in April also recommended that the definition should include whether or not the person is identifiable and that livestreaming should be added to the means by which a visual recording can be made.

The recommendations were based on feedback from the public, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and the Manitoba Justice director of victim services, who noted “the profound impact that the non-consensual distribution of images,” the report said. News reports for more than a decade show there can be tragic consequences.

A recommendation to include computer generated and altered images, referred to as “deepfakes,” has already been acted on by the the province. In June, Bill 24 — the Intimate Image Protection Amendment Act (Distribution of Fake Intimate Images) came into force, adding “fake intimate image” to the definition of an intimate image, and addressed the distribution of fake intimate images created by the use of technology that appear to depict identifiable people as being nude or engaged in sexual activity.

The amendments enable any person depicted in a fake intimate image to sue the person who distributed it without their consent.

The legislative changes followed a Winnipeg Police Service investigation last December into reports of AI-generated nude photos of underage students that were circulating at Collège Béliveau, a Grade 7-12 high school in Windsor Park.

School administrators had sent a letter to families to alert them that doctored photos of students had been shared online.

It said that original photos appear to have been gathered from publicly accessible social media and “explicitly altered.”

“It’s an important issue,” Wiebe told the Free Press Thursday as the legislative session wrapped up.

“That’s why we moved on the intimate images act and we addressed the issues around AI, which is certainly in the public conciousness and identified in the report. We want to continue to improve the legislation and improve the act.”

Wiebe did not say which recommendations the government would act on next.

The legislative review suggested an assessment of whether a “reasonable expectation of privacy” is a necessary requirement for protection and support under the act. It gives a “typical example” of a large gathering where an image is obtained of a person whose judgment may be impaired by alcohol and is therefore not legitimately consenting to the image being obtained or shared.

Because several people may be present, the affected person may not be perceived as having a reasonable expectation of privacy, the report said.

In 2013, 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons died by suicide after an intimate image of her was circulated among her high-school classmates in a suburb of Halifax.

The report also suggested taking out wording that images may be sent only to the person depicted in the image, saying that sending an intimate image to that person is a tactic that can be used to coerce and control in cases of intimate partner violence.

It recommends amending the law to include a threat to distribute an intimate image, and noted situations where such threats led to tragic cases of self-harm.

In British Columbia in 2012, Amanda Todd, 15, died by suicide after being targeted by online sextortion.

The report said those affected by the the misuse of intimate images and their families should have a access to a list of support services such as counselling, therapy, safety planning and information related to financial supports and legal remedies.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca