Jordan’s Law and Videos of Violent Crime
What psychologists and parents should know about posting violent crime videos.
Posted June 2, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Videos of physical attacks, robberies, sexual assaults, gang fights, and other violent felonies can be easily recorded and rapidly distributed through smartphones and social media . In some cases, these recordings document wrongdoing, facilitate appropriate help for the victim, provide evidence for law enforcement, or bring public attention to injustice or abuse situations that might otherwise remain hidden (Bayerl et al., 2023). In other cases, recording, streaming, and posting violent crimes can amplify harm. Victims can be humiliated or retraumatized. Perpetrators may gain the notoriety they seek. Others may copy the crimes committed. And viewers may be exposed to disturbing images without context, consent, or support.
Jordan’s Law is a California law enacted as a response to “social media motivated attacks,” violent acts committed or amplified for online attention and notoriety (California State Senate, 2017; Organization for Social Media Safety, n.d.). The law provides that when a person is convicted of a violent felony, the court may consider it an aggravating factor at sentencing “if the defendant willfully recorded a video of the commission of the violent felony with the intent to encourage or facilitate the offense” (California Penal Code § 667.95).
The law raises important questions for parents, young people, mental health professionals, educators, and the broader public. When does recording a violent crime promote accountability? When does it become participation in the harm? What responsibilities do bystanders have when they witness violence? And how should adults help children and adolescents understand the difference between documenting harm, seeking help, sharing newsworthy information, and exploiting another person’s suffering?
Rationale for the Law
The primary purpose of Jordan’s Law is deterrence. The law seeks to discourage people from committing or encouraging violent crimes for the purpose of gaining attention, status, or online engagement. It also reflects a broader concern that social media can transform acts of violence into public spectacles, potentially rewarding perpetrators with views, comments, shares, and notoriety.
A second purpose is victim protection. When violent-crime videos are shared online, victims may lose control over some of the most traumatic moments of their lives. Repeated viewing and resharing can compound humiliation , trauma, and emotional distress. For children and adolescents who are victims, witnesses, or viewers, the potential harms may be greater because they are still developing cognitively, emotionally, and socially.
A third purpose concerns public health and social learning . Research on media violence does not suggest that every person who views violent content will become violent. The relationship is more complex. Still, some research has associated exposure to violent video content with increased aggressive thoughts and behaviors, reduced emotional responsiveness to violence, and diminished helping behavior in certain contexts (Bushman & Anderson, 2009; de Andrade Rocha, 2025; Krahé et al., 2011). Thus, parents and professionals should avoid simplistic claims that viewing violent content directly “causes” crime while still recognizing that repeated exposure to violent imagery may normalize aggression , reduce empathy, or make violence seem like entertainment.
Arguments Against Jordan’s Law
Jordan’s Law and similar statutes passed in other states raise legitimate concerns. One concern is accomplice liability . If a person conspires with an attacker to record a violent crime, the recording may be part of the criminal act itself. In that situation, punishment may be justified because the recording is not neutral documentation; it is part of encouraging, facilitating, or amplifying the offense. By contrast, a bystander who records a crime to preserve evidence, obtain help, or report abuse should not be treated the same as a participant in the violence.
A second concern involves constitutionally protected liberties, particularly freedom of speech and freedom of the press . Some videos of violence may serve important public purposes. Recordings by bystanders have exposed police misconduct, hate crimes, bullying , elder abuse, and other forms of violence. A law that is too broad could chill legitimate documentation, journalism, advocacy, or public accountability. For this reason, the scope of any law regulating violent-crime videos should be carefully limited to conduct that is intentionally connected to encouraging, facilitating, or exploiting the crime. Accordingly, such laws should preserve clear protections for good-faith recordings made to document evidence, support responsible news reporting, expose wrongdoing, or otherwise serve the public interest.
While laws that create additional punishments for posting violent videos may deter harmful and inappropriate content from being shared with others, it is important to understand the limitations of criminal punishments. While criminal law may deter some harmful conduct, it cannot by itself teach young people how to respond ethically when they see violence happening, decide whether to video the incident, and determine whether or how to share the video with others. Parents, teachers, mental health professionals, and community organizations also need to help youth develop digital citizenship skills, empathy, moral judgment, and an understanding of the potential harms to victims, families, and communities. Basic guidance should include the following:
With the growing use of AI to produce videos and other visual content on social media, the potential harm of posting violent videos may be growing. For parents, mental health professionals, and others interested in stemming the flow of harmful social media images, it will be helpful to have further research on what motivates various people to record and post videos of violent acts, as well as what may deter them from doing so (Bayerl et al., 2023).
Bayerl, P. S., Rüdiger, T.-G., & Vera, A. (2023). Why bystanders (don’t) post about violence: Contextualizing individualized versus socialized rationales of observers’ publication intentions. Social Media + Society, 9 (1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221150414
Bushman, B. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2009). Comfortably numb: Desensitizing effects of violent media on helping others. Psychological Science, 20 (3), 273–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02287.x
de Andrade Rocha, F., Gilbert, N., Tabares Velasquez, C., Bégin, V., Garon-Carrier, G., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2025). Child exposure to violent content and aggression: A novel approach to an old debate. Academic Pediatrics, 25 (8), Article 102879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2025.102879
California Penal Code. (2017). § 667.95. https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-pen/part-1/title-16/sectio…
California State Senate. (2017). Bill analysis: AB 1542. https://archive.senate.ca.gov/sites/archive.senate.ca.gov/files/committ…
Krahé, B., Möller, I., Huesmann, L. R., Kirwil, L., Felber, J., & Berger, A. (2011). Desensitization to media violence: Links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100 (4), 630–646. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021711
Organization for Social Media Safety. (n.d.). Jordan’s law . https://socialmediasafety.org
Share this post Facebook Bluesky Linkedin Email
There was a problem adding your email address. Please try again.
By submitting your information you agree to the Psychology Today Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
Allan E. Barsky is a professor with the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, FL, USA. The views expressed in Dr. Barsky’s blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization to which he belongs.
Get the help you need from a therapist near you–a FREE service from Psychology Today.
This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.