The Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA) needs improvements to help victims make their case, a lawyer says.
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It comes as allegations emerged former National Party candidate Jake Bezzant impersonated his ex-girlfriend online using naked pictures she had sent him during their relationship.
In a statement, Bezzant said there were two sides to every story and it should be seen in the context of a relationship break-up.
The case has raised questions about the strength of laws protecting people from online abuse.
Lawyer Kathryn Dalziel told Morning Report the HDCA presented thresholds that were a hurdle to victims wanting to establish a complaint.
"Given the prevalance of this behaviour, I think Parliament might need to intervene."
It is illegal to share sensitive photos, but only if they are shared with the intent to cause harm.
Dalziel said the thresholds of showing "serious and emotional distress", as a result of the content being shared needed to change.
"I'd remove the 'serious'. I just think that it should be enough to show you're suffering emotional distress as a result of this.
"I would also take out of the test - which is that posting the communication could cause harm to an ordinary reasonable person in position of the victim. I'd take that out altogether.
"It should be subjective, it should be what this victim is experiencing as a result of the intent to post intimate communication."
These offences needed to be taken as seriously as domestic violence, she said.
"Domestic violence also includes harrassment or bullying and in my view this is just a follow-on from some of the domestic violence issues we've seen.
"The police have done a huge amount of work in this space and they are responding far more effectively to domestic violence than they have in the past. That needs to be extended to this."
She said school education material on this area was available on NetSafe too.
"Schools are really doing good work in this area as well. Human nature is human nature and people behave the way that they do, but we've got to say as a community 'this is not okay and this is how we expect you to behave'."
