Sharing intimate images without permission that were obtained with consent is a criminal offence (art. 197.7 of the Criminal Code): three months to one year in prison or a fine, in the upper half of the range if committed by a partner or ex-partner. Since Organic Law 10/2022, forwarding them is also punishable. You can report it, request urgent removal through the Spanish Data Protection Agency’s Priority Channel (Canal Prioritario de la AEPD) and keep evidence without forwarding the content.
A photo or video you shared in confidence turns up in a WhatsApp group, on a social network or on a website. Or your ex-partner threatens to publish it if you do not go back to him. It is one of the most humiliating forms of digital violence and, sadly, very common after a break-up. It is not your fault that you trusted him, and the law protects you. In this article we explain what the Criminal Code says, how to stop the images spreading as quickly as possible and what someone accused of these acts should also know.
What the law says: article 197.7 of the Criminal Code
The term “revenge porn” does not appear in the law, which refers to the dissemination of intimate images without authorisation. Article 197.7 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal) punishes with three months to one year in prison or a fine of six to twelve months anyone who:
- disseminates, discloses or passes on to third parties images or audiovisual recordings of another person,
- which they obtained with that person’s consent in a home or in a place out of sight of third parties,
- without that person’s authorisation to disseminate them,
- where the disclosure seriously undermines that person’s privacy.
The key point is that consent to having a photo taken, or to someone receiving it, is not consent to sharing it. It makes no difference if you sent it yourself.
Forwarding has also been an offence since 2022
It used to be debated whether someone who received the image and forwarded it committed an offence. Organic Law 10/2022, in force since 7 October 2022, settled the matter: anyone who receives such images and disseminates, discloses or passes them on to third parties without the consent of the person concerned will be punished with a fine of one to three months. Forwarding something to a group “so they can see it” is no longer harmless.
Aggravating circumstances
The penalties are imposed in the upper half of the range when:
- the offender is or has been the victim’s spouse or partner, even if they never lived together;
- the victim is a minor or a person with a disability in need of special protection;
- the acts are committed for profit.
When the offender is the partner or ex-partner, the case is investigated by the Violence against Women Section of the Court of First Instance (Sección de Violencia sobre la Mujer del Tribunal de Instancia, formerly the Violence against Women Courts), which has jurisdiction over offences against privacy in the context of gender violence.
Other offences that may also apply
| Conduct | Possible offence |
|---|---|
| Secretly recording or photographing someone, or taking images from your phone without permission | Discovery and disclosure of secrets (art. 197.1), with a higher penalty if they are disseminated (art. 197.3) |
| Threatening to publish the images to get something | Threats or coercion; between partners, also art. 171.4 or 172.2 |
| Creating fake profiles with your image to humiliate you | Art. 172 ter.5 CP |
| Contacting you or watching you insistently | Stalking (art. 172 ter) |
| Images of minors | Child pornography offences, which are particularly serious |
As for fake sexual images created with artificial intelligence (“deepfakes”), the Draft Organic Law for the protection of minors in digital environments provides for making them an express offence, but at the end of September 2026 it was still going through Parliament (Congreso) and is not yet in force. In the meantime, depending on the case, they may fall under other offences such as stalking or offences against moral integrity. You will find more information on online violence on our cyberviolence and online harassment page.
What to do in the first few hours
- Do not forward the content, not even to ask friends for help. Describe where it is and who published it.
- Gather evidence (we explain how below) before the content disappears.
- Request removal through the AEPD Priority Channel and through each platform’s reporting tools.
- Report it to the National Police (Policía Nacional), the Guardia Civil or the court.
- Seek support: 016 is available 24 hours a day and can also give you emotional guidance.
Important: the offence in article 197.7 can only be prosecuted if the injured person files a complaint, unless she is a minor, a person with a disability in need of special protection, or the acts affect several people (art. 201 CP). If you want criminal proceedings, you have to report it.
The AEPD Priority Channel
The Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, AEPD) has a Priority Channel for reporting the unlawful dissemination online of photographs, videos or audio of a sexual or violent nature that seriously endanger the rights of the people concerned. The Agency can take urgent measures to have them removed.
- It is filed through the AEPD’s online portal (aepd.es/canalprioritario).
- It can be used by the person concerned and also by anyone who knows about the dissemination.
- Minors aged between 14 and 17 can file it themselves, and there is a specific route for minors.
- It is compatible with a criminal complaint: one route seeks to remove the content and the other to punish the person responsible.
Removing content from platforms and search engines
- Social networks and messaging services have forms for reporting non-consensual nudity. Use them, stating that you have not given your permission.
- The main search engines allow you to request the removal from their results of intimate images published without consent.
- Tools such as StopNCII.org generate a digital fingerprint of the image, without uploading it, so that participating platforms can block it from being published.
- You can exercise the right to erasure recognised by data protection law against the website or the person responsible for publishing it.
How to preserve digital evidence
- Take screenshots showing the image or a description of it, the profile or number publishing it, and the date and time.
- Copy the exact URLs of posts and profiles.
- Keep threatening or blackmail messages without deleting them and keep the phone.
- Note who told you and in which group they saw it: those people may be witnesses.
- If the content may disappear, consider having it certified by a notary or through a digital certification service.
You will find more details in our evidence guide for gender violence cases. If your ex-partner also keeps writing to you or watching you, read post-separation harassment.
If you are the person accused
These cases also call for a rigorous defence. For a conviction under article 197.7, every element must be proven: that the image was obtained with consent in a private setting, that there was no authorisation to disseminate it, that the dissemination was carried out by the accused, and that it seriously undermined the person’s privacy. Authorship is often disputed (shared accounts, lost devices or unauthorised access), and the digital evidence must be technically verifiable.
It also matters to distinguish who disseminated the content first and who forwarded it, because the penalty is very different. If you find yourself in this situation, do not delete evidence or contact the complainant, especially if there is a restraining order (orden de alejamiento): do everything through your lawyer. Bear in mind that in offences against privacy, forgiveness by the injured party can extinguish criminal liability (art. 201.3 CP), but not in every case, and it must never be sought through pressure. We explain how we work in defence of men in domestic violence cases.
Frequently asked questions
Is it an offence to share an intimate photo that was sent to me voluntarily?
Yes. Article 197.7 of the Criminal Code punishes the unauthorised dissemination of intimate images obtained with consent where the dissemination seriously undermines privacy. The penalty is three months to one year in prison or a fine of six to twelve months, imposed in the upper half of the range if the offender is or was the victim’s partner.
What is the penalty for forwarding an intimate image I have received?
Since Organic Law 10/2022, anyone who receives intimate images and disseminates, discloses or passes them on to third parties without the consent of the person concerned commits an offence punishable by a fine of one to three months. The penalty increases if the victim is a minor or a person with a disability, if there is a relationship between partners, or if there is a profit motive.
How do I get my photos removed from the internet?
The quickest route is the Priority Channel of the Spanish Data Protection Agency, which can take urgent measures to remove sexual or violent content. You can also use the reporting forms of each social network and search engine, and exercise your right to erasure. All of this is compatible with a criminal complaint.
Do I need to report it for it to be investigated?
Yes, in general. Under article 201 of the Criminal Code, offences against privacy require a complaint from the injured person or their legal representative. This is not necessary when the victim is a minor, a person with a disability in need of special protection, or when the acts affect several people.
If you are going through a situation like this, acting quickly makes all the difference in stopping the images from spreading. Our cyberviolence and online harassment page explains how we support you, and if the content is sexual you can also see sexual violence offences. Call us on 607 449 491, available 24 hours a day.
Legal basis and sources
- Criminal Code, article 197 (BOE, in Spanish)
- Criminal Code, article 201 (BOE, in Spanish)
- Criminal Code, article 172 ter (BOE, in Spanish)
- Organic Law 10/2022 on the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom (BOE, in Spanish)
- Organic Law 6/1985 on the Judiciary (BOE, in Spanish)
- Organic Law 3/2018 on Personal Data Protection and the guarantee of digital rights (BOE, in Spanish)
- Spanish Data Protection Agency: Priority Channel (in Spanish)
- BOCG: Draft Organic Law for the protection of minors in digital environments (121/000052) (in Spanish)
