California law prohibits revenge porn

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that bans so-called revenge porn in which spurned lovers post nude photographs of their exes online.

Senate Bill 255 by Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, was one of 36 bills the governor signed into law Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The law prohibits people from maliciously posting nude images or video footage of another person "with the intent to cause serious emotional distress," the bill said.

The misdemeanor carries a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, both of which would be doubled on a second offense, the Sacramento Bee reported.

"Until now, there was no tool for law enforcement to protect victims," Cannella said in a news release about the law. "Too many have had their lives upended because of an action of another that they trusted."