Austin-based Bumble pushes for federal bill enacting penalties for 'cyberflashing'

Flashing someone on the street carries strict penalties, but "cyberflashing," or sending lewd images without consent by text messaging or the internet, still has few or no repercussions in many states.

A federal bill introduced late last month aims to provide protections against such digital behavior, and it has gained backing from Austin-based Bumble, which has helped pass a number of state laws, including in Texas, that impose specific penalties for sending unsolicited nude or sexual photos.

Bumble is best known for its namesake dating app, which works similarly to apps like Tinder, where users swipe left to right on preferences. Bumble differentiates itself by only allowing women to initiate conversations. The company also has a networking-focused feature and recently spun out its friendship feature to its Bumble BFF app.

In addition to Texas, Bumble helped pass similar laws on cyberflashing in Virginia and California, as well as supporting amendments to such bans in the European Union and United Kingdom.

The bill that passed in Texas in 2019 makes sending an unsolicited nude or sexual photo without consent of the recipient punishable by a fine of up to $500. Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd testified in support of the bill, and the company pledged to bring the legislation to states beyond Texas.

The federal bill, dubbed the CONSENT Act (short for Curbing Online Non-consensual Sexually Explicit Nudity Transfers), aims to provide protection for recipients of sexually explicit images, including images manipulated by artificial intelligence or machine learning.

The bill aims to offer legal recourse against individuals who knowingly send sexually explicit images without the consent of recipients. It also aims to offer economic damages of up to $500 or compensatory damages for emotional distress, a temporary restraining order and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

It would allow a legal guardian to bring civil action on a minor's behalf and permit the minor to use initials, rather than a full name. in all court proceedings.

What does the bill say?

U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Virginia, introduced the bill, H.R. 7736, in late March. The legislation also is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler, and Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Steve Daines, R-Montana.

McClellan said while introducing the bill that cyberflashing can include transferring sexually explicit images, videos and pictures without consent through a number of methods, including social media, messaging apps, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and AirDrop, and she said the problem is becoming increasingly prevalent.

“The rise in cyberflashing affects everyone, including everyday users, celebrities and children,” McClellan said, citing victims including actresses Keke Palmer and Chrishell Stause.

“With the widespread adoption of social media, dating apps and other technologies, we are seeing a concerning rise in inappropriate online behavior that impacts users, including our own children," she said. "For too long, Congress has failed to pass legislation that keeps up with the rapidly evolving digital landscape and the new challenges posed by these developments.”

Why is Bumble backing the bill?

Liz Monteleone, Bumble’s interim general counsel, told the Amercian-Statesman this week that the company has been involved in the issue of cyberflashing since 2018, when it surveyed women on Bumble and found 1 in 3 had received a nonconsensual lewd photo. The company also has developed a number of tools in its app, including one called the Private Detector, which uses artificial intelligence and automatically detects and blurs potential lewd images.

Monteleone said the company is proud of the work it has done on the state level, but texts, emails and the internet don’t operate within state boundaries.

“The issues we are confronting with this federal bill are issues that cross state lines and must be addressed by federal statute,” she said. “Without a federal law, victims in states without laws will be left without justice for crimes committed against them."

She said the bill includes specific protections against AI because the technology is rapidly developing and brings unique risks to online safety. She added that as the technology advances, Bumble is eager to address potential harms that could affect women and marginalized groups.

“Although AI has been around for a while, its use as a tool for online abuse and harassment has grown in recent years, so it was important for us to get in front of the issue,” Monteleone said.

Bumble also has released a script designed to help people call their representatives to urge them to vote for the bill.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Federal bill that would penalize 'cyberflashing' get Bumble's backing