---
title: "Disclosure of Personal Secrets Defense"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/disclosure-of-personal-secrets-defense-en"
field: "Criminal Law"
description: "Defense for privacy breach and revenge porn charges (Art. 157) in Georgia. Expert cybercrime lawyers. Find specialists on Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-07-09"
updated: "2026-10-28"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Disclosure of Personal Secrets Defense

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/disclosure-of-personal-secrets-defense-en

Disclosure of personal secrets (Article 157 of the Criminal Code of Georgia) involves the illegal obtaining, storage, use, dissemination, or making available of personal or family secrets, information depicting private life, or personal data. This crime is particularly severe when it involves intimate material (photos/videos), the dissemination of which can cause irreparable harm to a person's reputation and mental state. Accused individuals are often former partners ("Revenge Porn"), hackers, or persons with professional access to confidential information. Legislation strictly punishes this act, especially if it occurs through mass media (internet).

## What does the Disclosure of Personal Secrets Defense service cover?

Lawyer assistance is essential for both the accused (to protect rights) and the victim (to stop harm). Services include:

-   **Qualification of the act:** Determining whether the disseminated information was indeed a "personal secret." Sometimes information was public, and its spread is not a crime.
-   **Digital footprint expertise:** Analyzing IP addresses and logs to determine if the accused actually disseminated the material (or if their account was hacked).
-   **Motive research:** Was there an intent to cause harm, or did the dissemination happen due to negligence.
-   **Plea agreement:** Mitigating the sentence if the accused cooperates and deletes the illegal material.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/crim-criminal-law-en/disclosure-of-personal-secrets-defense-en

### What penalty applies to unlawful dissemination of private-life information?

Where significant damage is caused – a fine, corrective labor for up to two years or imprisonment for up to three years; dissemination through a social network or another public statement – imprisonment for up to four years. For mercenary reasons or more than once – up to five years, and for a person obliged to protect the information – from four to seven years.

### When is a person released from liability?

Where he handed the obtained or stored information over to the investigative bodies and thereby provided information about a committed or expected other criminal act. This release applies only to the obtaining and storage forms.

### What is commission for mercenary reasons?

Committing the act with the aim of receiving material or other benefit. In such cases, or on more than one occasion, the case proceeds under part 3 – a fine or imprisonment for up to five years.

### Who falls under part 4?

A person who, by virtue of official position, professional activity or another circumstance, was obliged to protect that information, or who committed the act by using an official position – such cases are punished by imprisonment from four to seven years.

### What does a lawyer examine in such a case?

Whether the information reflected private life or personal data, whether the act was unlawful, whether it caused significant damage, and whether the qualification under the applied part is correct.