Dating app Bumble has approved the Consent Act, the US federal internet flash law
Cyberflashing is sending nude photos without consent. A 2021 survey of nearly 1,800 respondents in England and Wales showed that 48% of adults aged 18 to 24 said they had received unsolicited sexual images.
According to an email sent to Mashable by Bumble, the Consent Act, if passed, would provide legal recourse for individuals who knowingly engage in online flashing, regardless of whether they Use photos that have been digitally manipulated (such as artificial intelligence). . Additionally, the bill would provide compensatory damages and safeguards for the privacy of minors (allowing legal guardians to bring civil actions on their behalf and allowing them to be referred to by their initials).
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The CONSENT Act is a bipartisan, bicameral bill sponsored by Representatives Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-01) and Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Steve Daines (R-MT ) propose.
Mix and match after dark
Bumble has campaigned for years to make web flashing illegal in the US and UK. For example, Bumble said in April 2023 that the proposed UK Online Safety Bill would not be enough to stop web flashing because it is based on whether the sender has malicious intent. The bill was later passed and the Cybersecurity Law came into effect at the end of January, although harmful intent still needs to be proven. This month Nicholas Hawkes, 39, became the first person in England and Wales to be convicted of an internet flash incident.
Domestically, Bumble supports laws passed in Texas, Virginia and California to curb online sexual harassment. Bumble has also helped introduce bills in Maryland, Michigan, New York, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., according to its announcement about the Consent Act. In the EU, Bumble also supports an amendment to ban web flash.
The app adds the ability to block network flickering. In 2019, Bumble launched a “private detector” that alerts users when someone is sending unsolicited nude photos. In 2022, Bumble will open source Private Detector.
A 2018 Bumble survey revealed that 96% of women were unhappy with receiving unsolicited nude photos. That’s unlikely to change over the next six years.
