Ban on Distribution of Sexually Explicit Materials Strengthened

Service members would face a better chance of being prosecuted for transmitting sexually explicit materials, under a provision of the current defense-spending bill. The law now changes the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to state that any such transmissions that cause “harm, harassment, intimidation, emotional distress, or financial loss to the person depicted in the image, or harms substantially the depicted person’s health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation, or personal relationships” would result in criminal prosecution for the distributor. The change stems fro the 2017 “Marines United” scandal, in which more than 30,000 active-duty and retired members of the armed forces were accused initially of distributing such materials. The images were of female service members and military spouses.