Attorney General Niki Sharma
Image Credit: Flickr/Province of BC
May 04, 2023 - 10:20 AM
There have been at least four court cases in the Okanagan over the past few months dealing with men charged or convicted of voyeurism after secretly recording women.
In some cases those images were shared online.
The B.C. government has now passed the Intimate Images Protection Act. It will be become law in the next few months and a website will help victims quickly get the images removed.
“The goal is to be a very fast acting, trauma informed process,” Attorney General Niki Sharma told iNFOnews.ca during an online news conference today, May 4.
“We’re working right now on launching a website with the Civil Resolution Tribunal which will be the main form for these types of orders. It’s meant to be an online-driven process that’s accessible 24/7 for the victim to get orders quickly from the tribunal that these images are taken down and to have those tools they need to stop it from being distributed.”
The legislation comes more than 10 years after Amanda Todd of Port Coquitlam died by suicide at the age of 15, shortly after she posted a video in which she used flash cards to describe being tormented by an anonymous harasser who was sharing intimate images of her.
In 2021, a Dutch national was convicted in BC Supreme Court for extortion, harassment and distribution of child pornography in the case.
READ MORE: B.C. proposes new law for sharing of intimate images online without permission
The legislation isn’t intended to add to any criminal prosecutions or penalties to perpetrators but to be complementary to those and to speed up the process of getting images removed from online outlets.
Sharma sent a letter, today, to major Internet providers like Google, Meta, Twitter and Tinder, along with dating and porn sites advising them of the new legislation.
She expects to work with those carriers over the next few months to make sure they have processes set up to quickly remove intimate images as soon they are told they are unauthorized.
If they fail to comply they can be subjected to administrative penalties and civil suits for damages.
Sharma also expects the companies to take down the material from all their sites, not just in B.C.
In just one of four recent voyeurism cases in the Okanagan, a Lake Country man was convicted after shooting videos of his roommate through a hole he made in the wall between their rooms.
READ MORE: Vernon man cut hole in wall, filmed roommate naked
He was discovered after she saw a short video clip of herself, naked, putting on lotion. Her roommate had posted it on his Facebook page.
The new legislation is intended to aid victims like her in getting the images taken down before there are even charges laid or convictions.
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