Anti-Revenge Porn Movement Makes Headway

Anti-Revenge Porn Movement Makes Headway

The war against revenge porn appears to be turning.

Not so long ago, a vindictive ex-lover could spread online explicit photos of a former partner — usually a woman — without much in the way of consequences. That’s no longer the case, the Washington Post reports:

Government officials are more aggressively pursuing people who leak such images and the Web sites set up to profit from them. Meanwhile, more than a dozen states have passed laws criminalizing nonconsensual pornography. Essentially, the long war against revenge porn is finally getting results.

“We’ve made huge progress,” said Charlotte Laws, a prominent activist who became involved in fighting nonconsensual porn after a topless photo of her daughter was posted to a site run by Hunter Moore, one of the most notorious revenge porn site operators . . .

Victims can sue the person who leaked the images and 16 states now have criminal cyberstalking or harassment laws that criminalize such situations, she said. That’s a significant improvement since 2004 when New Jersey first passed legislation addressing revenge porn, according to Danielle Citron, a professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and author of the book “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace.” Federal cyberstalking law may also apply if the person share the images online repeatedly, she said.

Mr. Moore, a 28-year-old from Woodland, Calif., was accused by federal prosecutors of posting stolen nude photos online. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to hacking and identity theft charges and faces up to seven years in prison, according to the Associated Press.

The Federal Trade Commission has also started cracking down. Late last month, it announced a settlement with an operator of an alleged revenge porn site, IsAnybodyDown.com, that banned him from publishing nude pictures of people without their consent and required him to destroy his explicit photo collection.

Prosecuting sites that host revenge porn content, though, remains tricky, the Post article notes.

Under a federal Internet law passed in 1996, Internet providers and websites aren’t legally responsible for third-party content posted by their users, as long as the content doesn’t violate intellectual property laws or federal criminal laws.

How We Can Help
If you, a friend or a family member find themselves in a situation such as this, please call the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A. at 305 670-3330 right away. Scott A. Ferris, Esq. is a licensed criminal law attorney who has been practicing law since 1987. He is available whenever you need him to defend your rights. Please learn about our firm at www.FerrisLawFirm.com.
Republished by the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A.