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Florida state Sen. Lauren Book, who is proposing legislation to stop cyber trafficking after nude pictures of her were stolen and sold online, decried victim blaming in an exclusive interview with Fox News digital.
“Some of the other things that I’ve heard is … ‘Well, if you weren’t so young or good-looking, you wouldn’t have this problem.’ That is a terrible thing to say to somebody who’s having to endure cyber trafficking,” Book told Fox News. “My images were sold, bought for, traded, not with my consent, and it is happening every day to women, children across the country.”
“I believe that that is victim blaming,” Book said of some comments she received regarding the images that were stolen and distributed. She said it is likely the perpetrator will never be found, since the individual’s virtual private network bounced to Russia and Sweden.
Book revealed the intimate nature of some of the photos that were stolen. One was of “a really bad sunburn … one was after a lumpectomy that I went through in November.”
Florida Sen. Lauren Book stands for the Pledge of Allegiance during a legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, in Tallahassee, Florida. Book says she was extorted by someone threatening to reveal nude photos that were stolen from her. She’s sponsoring a bill making it a felony to steal sexually explicit images from digital devices. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
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Book is now proposing a new law to try to prevent others from being victimized in the same way.
The bill got its first victory Tuesday in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, where members unanimously passed it. The bill would strengthen Florida’s revenge porn law by making it a felony to steal sexually explicit images from someone’s phone or other digital devices. It would also make disseminating altered or created sexually explicit images, known as deepfakes, a felony.
“We’re gonna work to make it a crime so that other women don’t have to suffer this way,” Book said.
FLORIDA SENATOR EXTORTED OVER NUDE PHOTOS IS TAKING LEGISLATIVE ACTION TO PROTECT OTHERS
She said on the federal level, lawmakers need to look into going after the platforms the images are uploaded to.
Book’s office received an overwhelming response from survivors of cyberstalking to victims of deepfake, digital hacking and image-based sexual abuse after they read news reports of the bill she’s sponsoring in the Florida legislature.
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The state senator hasn’t heard from Gov. Ron DeSantis about whether he’d sign the bill should it make it to his desk, but she said the bill has bipartisan support.
