Coco's Law: President signs bill criminalising the sharing of intimate images without consent

President Michael D Higgins signed the bill into law today. Picture: Maxwells

The President has signed the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017 into law.

Dubbed Coco’s Law, it will criminalise the sharing of intimate images without consent.

It will come with a penalty of an unlimited fine and/or up to seven years imprisonment.

A statement from the press office of President Michael D Higgins read: "Having considered the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017, President Higgins has today signed the Bill and it has accordingly become law."

The bill was informally named Coco’s Law after Nicole Fox Fenlon.

The 21-year-old died by suicide following a prolonged period of online abuse in 2018. She was affectionately known as ‘Coco’, a name that came about because her little cousin couldn’t pronounce ‘Nicole’.

Since her daughter's death, Nicole's mother Jackie Fox has campaigned for stricter punishment measures for online abuse.

The legislation was first introduced by Labour Party TD Brendan Howlin in 2017.  

Speaking about the legislation last week, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said that it “will make the sharing of intimate images without someone’s consent a crime.

“It is abuse and should never be tolerated.

“It’s up to all of us to call out and report this kind of behaviour when we encounter it”.

The Minister for Justice intends to commence Coco's Law in February to highlight the importance of internet safety. February 9 is designated Safer Internet Day in 2021.