A new act signed into law in August by Governor J.B. Pritzker will make online harassment illegal. House Bill 2408 sponsored by State Senator Steve McClure and Republican State Representative Avery Bourne of Raymond takes aim at online harassment in the form revenge pornography. The act makes it illegal to post private compromising images of another person online and creates a court process for a victim to have the images taken down with an emergency order, and to recover damages.
The newly signed law also gives victims the ability to go after the perpetrators in court. If a person is found to have posted a private compromising image, they will be held liable for damages in an amount determined by the court. The law was signed by the governor on August 16th and will go into effect on January 1st.
