* § 52-d. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a personal image. 1. Any crime victim depicted in a still or video image which was unlawfully disseminated as provided in section 250.71 or 250.72 of the penal law shall have a cause of action against such individual who disseminated or published such still or video image without the consent of the person depicted in the image.

1. 2. In any action commenced pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the finder of fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages and reasonable court costs and attorneys' fees.
2. 3. This section shall not apply to the following: a. the reporting of unlawful conduct; b. the dissemination or publication of an image made during law enforcement activities, legal proceedings or medical treatment; c. images involving activities in a public setting or activities in a commercial setting in which legal activities are being conducted; or d. the dissemination or publication of an image made for a legitimate public purpose.
3. 4. Any such crime victim depicted in a still or video image which was unlawfully disseminated as provided in section 250.71 or 250.72 of the penal law, or such person's estate, may maintain an action or special proceeding for a court order to require any website that is subject to personal jurisdiction under subdivision five of this section to permanently remove such still or video image; any such court order granted pursuant to this subdivision may direct removal only as to images that are reasonably within such website's control.
4. 5. Any website that hosts or transmits a still or video image, viewable in this state, which was unlawfully disseminated as provided in section 250.71 or 250.72 of the penal law and which image is hosted or transmitted without the consent of the person depicted in the image, shall be subject to personal jurisdiction in a civil action in this state to the maximum extent permitted under the United States constitution and federal law.
5. 6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be commenced the later of either: a. three years after the dissemination or publication of such image; or b. one year from the date the plaintiff or petitioners discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, such dissemination or publication of such image.
6. 7. Nothing in this section shall be read to require a prior criminal complaint, prosecution or conviction to establish the elements of the cause of action provided for by this section.
7. 8. The provisions of this section are in addition to, but shall not supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity.
8. 9. If any provision of this section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.
9. 10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, or to enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C. § 230 confers on an interactive computer service for content provided by another information content provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230. * NB Effective February 26, 2023