Quebec tables new bill to combat sharing intimate images without consent

Quebec moves to protect victims Quebec tables new bill to stop non-consensual sharing of intimate images with tough penalties for violators.

Quebec tabled a new bill Thursday to stop intimate images from being shared without consent.

In an attempt to show just how quickly photos can be shared, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette published a video to preview what was coming.

"What we want with that bill is to have a quick way to … delete that picture and to limit the bad consequence on the person," the minister said at the Quebec legislature.

Victims will have access to emergency legal recourse. They can fill out a form online so that a judge will quickly hear their case.

The judge can render a decision to have the photo deleted.

Those who don't respect the decision could face hefty fines between $500 and $5,000 per day and can even face jail time.

"We decided to make that tough because that’s a serious subject and we want that kind of situation to not happen again," he said.

Getting rid of these photos can be a major challenge. Researcher Christopher Dietzel studies sexual violence and welcomes this bill but he says photos can be shared and recreated very quickly.

"Even if it's removed offline, somebody can save it on their device, they can save it on their laptop, they can put it on an external hard drive," Dietzel said.

At the legislature, the Parti Québécois (PQ) was hoping Quebec would have tabled this bill earlier.

"We urged the government to tackle these issues last year and the first answers we got, including here in the chamber, was they laughed at us," said PQ MNA Pascal Paradis.

The justice minister wants people to understand just how serious sexting and sextortion can be.

"It can cost lives and people can see their lives broken about that," Jolin-Barrette said.

In the fast-paced world of technology, Quebec wants to put victims first and make sure they are properly protected. But it's still not clear how the province plans to ensure that all photos that are shared without consent are deleted for good.