ALBANY - New York has written "revenge porn" into its criminal code, bolstering laws to prevent the non-consensual sharing or publication of intimate images online.

The state Legislature passed the bill in February, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law Tuesday.

"Our laws have not kept pace with technology and how abusers can use it to harass, intimidate and humiliate intimate partners," Cuomo said.

"By criminalizing the publication of revenge porn, we are empowering victims of this heinous act to take action against their abusers and showing them a path to justice."

Here's what the new law, which will take effect in 60 days, will do:

Defines revenge porn

The law gives a specific definition of revenge porn.

It will be deemed a criminal act when there is the "dissemination or publication of an intimate image when done with the intent to cause harm to the emotional, financial, or physical welfare of another person and when the image was taken with a reasonable expectation that the image would remain private."

The law describes the images being disseminated as those that "must depict an unclothed or exposed intimate part of such other person; or such other person engaging in sexual conduct with another person."

The measure was part of Cuomo's Women's Justice Agenda this year that included stronger abortion-rights laws, workplace protections and sexual-harassment laws.

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What are the charges

The new law would establish a revenge porn crime as a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable of up to one year in jail or three years probation.

It also amends the state's Civil Rights Law to allow victims of revenge porn to seek civil recourse for the damages.

Those damages could include seeking recourse against any website "that hosts or transmits a still or video image, taken under circumstances where the person depicted had a reasonable expectation of privacy, which depicts an unclothed or exposed intimate part, or a resident of New York engaging in sexual conduct."

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A time limit to file a claim

For the civil actions, a victim can file one no later than three years after the dissemination or publication of an image or one year from the date a person discovers the image had been distributed or posted online.

Also, according to Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, D-Queens, the law will make New York the first state to allow victims to seek a court-ordered injunction to require websites to remove the offending images.

The goal, advocates said, is to prevent someone's reputation and career from being destroyed by photos posted online without their consent.

"These photographs have extensive negative effects, including destroying future intimate relationships and educational and employment opportunities," the bill states.

Why the law

The bill said victims of revenge porn "are routinely threatened with sexual assault, stalked, harassed, or fired from jobs,"

By making it criminal to spread around intimate images of another person, New York leaders said a conviction can deter people from continuing the act.

Also, a criminal case can often end without a lengthy trial, which in civil cases can lead to a trail that is "emotionally exhausting and prohibitively expensive," the bill said.

"Therefore, criminalizing dissemination and publication of these photos may prevent websites from benefiting from the harmful images," the bill said.

But the law always both civil and criminal cases to go on concurrently.

The civil part of the law is called a "private right of action" to work in conjunction with the criminal, allowing a victim "choice whether to pursue a criminal or civil case, or both," the bill explained.

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