This State Just Made Unsolicited Dick Pics Illegal

Apparently there's quite a few people out there who don't like unsolicited dick pictures. So many people in fact, that in Texas, it's now illegal.

According toFox 4 News, sending an unsolicited nude is now a Class C misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of up to $500 in the southern state. The new law was sponsored by state representative Morgan Meyer of Dallas who crafted it in collaboration with Whitney Wolfe Heard, the founder of Bumble. According to Meyer, the app has found users sending lewd photos had become a "crisis and an issue."

"They had a number of people who were using the app complaining about the sending of these images and they quickly realized there was no recourse," Meyer said to Fox 4 News. "There was nothing that could be done. It wasn't a criminal offense - although it was definitely digital sexual harassment."

That's now changed. The new law applies to apps like Bumble, as well as text messages, email and social media. But, with the way it's worded, could technically be applied to those who don't mind receiving the images; if there isn't explicit permission, then the sender is in violation of the law and could be fined.

A new survey from YouGov, an internet-based market research company, found that 53 percent of millennial women have received a dick pic. 1,156 women of all ages were used for the survey. 29 percent say they've received a dick pic at some point in time. The percentage increases to 53% of millennial women when asked if they've received a nude photo from a man. Sadly, they didn't ask millenial men whether they had received one or not.

It should be worth noting that 3 percent of millennial men "don't know" if they've sent a dick pic before. Honestly don't know how to explain that.

It should be noted that on Grindr, where many of us no doubt receive unsolicited photos of eggplants and the like, there is now an option to consent to NSFW images. Users can answer the prompt with "Never," "Not At First," and "Yes Please." This is likely aimed at these laws.

Dating apps taking on legislative efforts is nothing new. Match Group, which owns and operates several dating app companies including OkCupid, Tinder, and Match.com, helped pass legislation in California and Vermont, according to Fox 4 News.

J.T. Morris, an Austin-based attorney, alleges the Texas law will face legal challenges for being "overly broad and vague."

"It reaches things that arguably could cover images related to medical advice or moms sharing information about breastfeeding or their babies' health -- things like that which certainly can't be criminalized," Morris said.

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