Reality television personality Georgia Harrison met with Prime Minister Andy Burnham to propose a new law, dubbed 'Georgia's Law,' that would mandate the immediate removal of non-consensual intimate images from the internet. Harrison advocates for a 'kill switch' mechanism that would allow such content to be taken down as soon as it is reported, rather than the current 48-hour waiting period.
Harrison, who was a victim of non-consensual intimate image abuse by her former partner Stephen Bear, shared her firsthand experience of the "life-changing devastation" that can occur during the 48-hour window images remain online. She urged Prime Minister Burnham to consider intimate image abuse with the same severity as terrorist abuse material and child sexual abuse material, neither of which, she noted, takes 48 hours to remove.
"If something is unconsented, you literally pause it, report it and straight away it comes down," Harrison explained. "Then the onus is on the person who uploaded it to prove that it was consented. If they can prove it was consented, then it can go back up and if they can't it stays down and the evidence gets sent to the victim so they can use it in court if they feel like they want to in future."
She suggested the law be named after her, reasoning that victims do not search parliamentary acts but rather familiar names. Prime Minister Burnham expressed support for the principle behind the proposed law, stating, "non-consented images should not be in broad circulation around the system."
However, Burnham cautioned that while he agrees with Harrison's objectives and is willing to work with her, there are currently no immediate plans to implement the bill. "I can't say to you right we can implement this now and there's this bill in parliament, I can't say that," he stated, while emphasizing his commitment to protecting the mental health of those affected.
Stephen Bear was previously jailed and given a restraining order for sharing a private sex tape of Harrison. He was handed a five-year restraining order and a 21-month sentence in 2023 for sharing the tape on his OnlyFans page, ordered to repay over £22,000 earned from it. Despite his release, Bear repeatedly breached the restraining order by posting derogatory comments online and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements, including not informing police about a trip to Brazil and his return to the UK, and not reporting new passport and bank card acquisitions.
Harrison described the meeting as a significant step, stating that having the Prime Minister listen and agree to work with her on 'Georgia's Law' felt like an "amazing way to get the ball rolling." She believes that if successful, the law could help victims regain a sense of control.