Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, Intimate Image Offences
Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 (No. 32 of 2020), ss. 1-3
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 10 February 2021.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not distribute, publish or threaten to distribute or publish an intimate image of another person without that person's consent, with intent to cause harm or being reckless as to whether harm is caused, including an image that only purports to be that person's intimate depiction, such as an AI-generated or digitally altered synthetic image (s. 2).
- Do not record, distribute or publish an intimate image of another person without that person's consent where doing so seriously interferes with that person's peace and privacy or causes alarm, distress or harm (s. 3).
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Section 2: on summary conviction, a class A fine or imprisonment up to 12 months, or both; on conviction on indictment, a fine or imprisonment up to seven years, or both. Section 3: summary conviction only, a class A fine or imprisonment up to 12 months, or both.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 2 makes it an offence to distribute, publish or threaten to distribute or publish an intimate image of another person without that person's consent, with intent to cause harm or being reckless as to whether harm is caused. Section 3 separately makes it an offence to record, distribute or publish an intimate image of another person without consent where that act seriously interferes with the other person's peace and privacy or causes alarm, distress or harm.
The Act's definition of 'intimate image' covers any visual representation, made by any means including a photographic, film, video or digital representation, of what is, or purports to be, the person's genitals, buttocks, anal region, or, for a woman, her breasts, of underwear covering those areas, of a nude person, or of a person engaged in sexual activity.
Because the image need only purport to be the person's intimate depiction and may be made by any digital means, the offence reaches a fabricated or digitally altered image of that kind, including an AI-generated or AI-altered synthetic image, and is not limited to a genuine photograph of the person.
When LexLint raises it
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