Technical Expertise

NCP, RSA and sextortion are complex and continually changing subjects. CCRI regularly offers expert advice to task forces, legal commissions, and lawmakers on these issues.  A sample of the technical assistance that CCRI has provided or continues to provide is shared below.

• CCRI submitted comments and recommendations to the FTC in collaboration with Without My Consent to advance the protection of consumers and the public against “revenge porn” website operator Craig Brittain.
• CCRI leadership served on California’s Cyber Exploitation Task Force.
• CCRI board members participated in the Uniform Law Commission Study Committee on Revenge Porn.
• In September 2018, the Vermont Supreme Court upheld the state’s NCP law against a First Amendment challenge.  This was the first case in which CCRI filed an amicus brief, and the Court’s opinion in Vermont v. VanBuren largely adopts the arguments made in CCRI’s brief. The opinion also extensively cites the work of CCRI’s leadership as well as statistics and information provided by CCRI.
• In 2019, CCRI leadership co-authored an amicus brief in support of the state of Texas against a First Amendment challenge in Ex Parte Jordan Bartlett Jones.
• CCRI’s President and Legislative & Tech Policy Director, Mary Anne Franks, provides technical assistance to legislators and their staff while they are drafting laws that define and protect against NCP and also respect freedom of speech. She has advised lawmakers on NCP legislation in over 30 states and Washington, D.C. She also worked closely with Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s (D-CA) office in the drafting of a federal bill against NCP, called the Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2019 (the “SHIELD Act”). It is hoped that this federal bill will be brought for a vote before the current Congress. 

Please contact us at info@cybercivilrights.org if you are a community advocate or an attorney working on a case and would like to request technical expertise on the matter.

Legal Research

CCRI’s advocacy efforts are greatly supported by our legal research. To date, CCRI’s research has consisted of the information contained in the “Guide for Legislators”; model state, federal, and civil laws against NCP; a comprehensive infographic that outlines the anatomy of an effective NCP law; a list of states with NCP laws; and a list of ancillary laws.