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Law / United States / Rhode Island

Unauthorized dissemination of indecent material, digitally created or altered images

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-64-1, 11-64-3

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 2 July 2025.

An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.

As of 6 September 2026.

What it requires

  • Do not disseminate, publish, or sell a sexually explicit visual image of an identifiable adult, including one created or altered by a digital device, without that person's consent, where you know or recklessly disregard that the person will likely suffer harm, or intend to harass, intimidate, threaten, or coerce them.
  • A first violation is a misdemeanor; a second or subsequent violation, or a threat to disclose such an image for a benefit, or a demand for payment to remove one from public view, is a felony.
  • This chapter does not impose liability on an interactive computer service, information service, or telecommunications service for content provided by another person.

If you get it wrong

Criminal exposureYes

Private right of actionNo

Penalty structure

Three tiers: a first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year and a $1,000 fine, or both; a second or subsequent violation is a felony punishable by up to three years and a $3,000 fine, or both; threatening to disclose such an image for a benefit, or demanding payment to remove one from public view, is a separate felony punishable by up to five years and a $5,000 fine, or both.

Rule
Fixed only
As of
6 September 2026
Currency
USD
Fixed cap
5,000

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 11-64-3(a)(1), as amended by two 2025 public laws effective July 2, 2025, reaches a sexually explicit visual image of an identifiable adult "including any image created by a digital device or altered by digitization," language that covers a synthetic or AI-altered intimate image of a real, identifiable person alongside an unaltered photograph or recording.

Liability requires that the image was made or obtained under circumstances a reasonable person would know were meant to stay private (or was made without consent), was disseminated without the depicted person's consent, and was disseminated with knowledge or reckless disregard of likely harm, or with intent to harass, intimidate, threaten, or coerce.

A first violation is a misdemeanor (up to one year and $1,000); a second or subsequent violation is a felony (up to three years and $3,000); threatening to disclose such an image for a benefit, or demanding payment to remove one from public view, is a separate felony (up to five years and $5,000). Newsworthy, law-enforcement, legal-proceeding, and interactive-computer-service exemptions apply.

When LexLint raises it

  • generates_content
  • publishes_adult_content
  • operates_social_platform

Read the law

official text, Rhode Island General Laws (webserver.rilegislature.gov)

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