New York statute
N.Y. Penal Law § 250.70 — Unlawful dissemination of a personal image; definitions, application
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 250: Offenses Against the Right to Privacy, New York Penal Law.
Full text of N.Y. Penal Law § 250.70
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
250.70 Unlawful dissemination of a personal image; definitions,
application.
1. The following definitions shall apply to section 250.71 of this
article:
(a) "broadcast" means electronically transmitting a visual image with
the intent that it be viewed by a person;
(b) "disseminate" means to give, provide, lend, deliver, mail, send,
forward, transfer or transmit, electronically or otherwise to another
person;
(c) "publish" means to: (i) disseminate, as defined in paragraph (b)
of this subdivision, with the intent that such image or images be
disseminated to ten or more persons; (ii) disseminate with the intent
that such images be sold by another person; (iii) post, present,
display, exhibit, circulate, advertise or allows access, electronically
or otherwise, so as to make an image or images available to the public;
or (iv) disseminate with the intent that an image or images be posted,
presented, displayed, exhibited, circulated, advertised or made
accessible, electronically or otherwise and to make such image or images
available to the public;
(d) "family" means a parent or guardian, sibling, spouse, or child of
a person depicted in an image disseminated in violation of section
250.71 of this article.
(e) "social media platform" means a website, online or mobile
application, or online service that is designed primarily to enable a
user to generate or share content that can be viewed by other users on
the platform or to interact with other user-generated content on such
platform. "Social media platform" does not include a website, online or
mobile application, or online service that is designed primarily to
enable a user to access content on the platform that is not
user-generated and is preselected or organized by the provider; or a
website, online or mobile application, or online service that includes
any chat, comment, or other interactive functionality that is incidental
to the provision of such website, application, or service.
2. The following provisions shall apply to section 250.71 of this
article:
(a) The provisions of section 270.71 of this article shall not apply
to the following:
(i) the reporting of suspected unlawful conduct to law enforcement;
(ii) the dissemination or publication of an image made in the course
of official law enforcement duties, legal proceedings or criminal
prosecution, or medical treatment; or
(iii) the dissemination or publication of an image made for a
legitimate public discourse concerning local, national, or worldwide
events or other matters of public concern or public interest or
affecting the public welfare; any work of public interest, educational
or newsworthy value, including comment, criticism, parody or satire, and
works of entertainment, regardless of the degree of fictionalization; or
an advertisement or commercial announcement for any of the foregoing
works.
(b) Nothing in these sections shall be construed to limit, or to
enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C. § 230 confers on an interactive
computer service for content provided by another information content
provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230.
3. With respect to section 250.71 of this article, the provisions of
subdivision two of section 235.15 and subdivisions one and two of
section 235.24 of this part shall apply.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.