Protection against Revenge Porn
Revenge porn is probably the same age as the copier machine, however, it most likely got its boost with the spread of broadband internet as one of the meanest and most painful closings of a relationship. What is it exactly? What are the most famous, known cases? How can you avoid it, and what to do if you are a victim of revenge porn? And what is the law’s point of view on this? I’m going to focus on these in this article.
Revenge porn by definition
There are multiple situations of what we can call revenge porn, but the common thing is that there is a female (more often) or male (less often) victim, whose intimate pictures or videos have been shared with an audience, to whom it wasn’t meant to. For most of the cases, the revenge act is derived from a couple’s painful breakup, during which one of the members feels so stricken, that want to – virtually – hurt the other.
Regardless of the reason, it cannot legitimate any act of crime. We all saw the ‘80-90s rom-com movies, in which, at a certain point, the man’s complete wardrobe was thrown out the window on the street. This is a legitimate way of handling a cheating husband; although, sharing his dickpicks at his workplace is not.
Let’s see a few – virtual – examples of revenge porn:
- uploading the previously taken sex photos or videos on Pornhub,
- sharing intimate photos (not even sex, only posing) to the former lover’s family or friends,
- hacking or (unauthorized) sharing content of online adult sites (e.g. OnlyFans),
- distributing the former lover’s intimate portfolio on her/his workplace.
Regardless of the reason, all the above are acts of crime. Why? Because most probably the intimate materials have not been shared publicly with the consent of all of the members. The emphasis is on the consent for sharing, and it does not matter if the photo was taken with the model’s consent.
Why is this an act of crime at all? Because it affects lives. Many of the revenge porn criminals don’t even think about what damage are they causing; it is only an upload for them. However, that upload can destroy careers, can alienate family and friends, and as the internet does not forget, it will remain with the victims forever. Don’t aim to deep dive into numbers, but according to statistics, there are at least 10 million Americans, who already fell victim to non-consensual revenge pornography.
Famous cases of revenge porn
In the above section, we talked about what revenge porn is. Let’s see a few, well-known cases, in which it affected celebrities. There is no and should not be any difference between victims of revenge porn, although, there are a few, infamous cases that were able to – at least – raise awareness of this global issue.
- Kim Kardashian and his ex-boyfriend, Ray J.: Many of the current laws and statutes were not existing back in 2007 when Kardashian’s home video leaked the internet. The couple made a video of themselves in Mexico in 2002 when they were on vacation there. After their breakup, their sex video was released by Vivid Entertainment. Kim claimed that the release was lacking her consent. Kardashian sued to prevent the release but then dropped the lawsuit. We will never know whether it was part of a well-forged marketing strategy, however, this is one of the few occasions that the victim was able to monetize the situation.
- Rihanna: Nude photos of the famous singer have leaked twice. In 2009, after singer Chris Brown continuously abused her physically, they broke up and intimate photos appeared on the internet. “It was humiliating and embarrassing, especially my mom having to see that” – told Rihanna to the mainstream media back in the day.
- Fappening: In 2018, George Garafano pleaded guilty of gaining unauthorized access to many celebrities’ and civilians’ phones and iCloud accounts and releasing their intimate photos and sex videos publicly. The list includes Rihanna, Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Upton, Kaley Cuoco, and almost a hundred others. “I can’t even describe to anybody what it feels like to have my naked body shoot across the world like a news flash against my will. It just makes me feel like a piece of meat that’s being passed around for a profit.” – shared Jennifer Lawrence her thoughts to Vanity Fair on what happened.
What can I do?
To avoid unauthorized sharing is basically impossible. Of course, if you do not let your significant other to take intimate photos of you, that can serve as a solution. But what if there is consent and you like taking these photos and videos? You can upload them to a secure place, to which you have control over, so in case there is a breakup, you can change the password in time.
Fortunately, there are many options for those who fell victim for revenge porn:
- If it is uploaded onto the internet, notify the website immediately. No website should tolerate non-consensual pictures on them. Many porn sites have a complaint button or a separate page, on which you can share them further information about what has just happened.
- For your interest, take a screenshot of the page that includes all of the uploaded pictures or videos and the website’s address and the date/time.
- You should turn to the police to seek justice. Many countries now have already set up a discreet process to handle revenge porn and its victims.
According to the law
Since GDPR went live in 2019, internet content platforms became more sensitive to data rights, and not only the porn-related ones. If a photo has been shared of you online, you have the right to have it deleted – almost – anywhere in the world. Content sites will complain, as otherwise, they face a serious fee of 2% of their annual revenue.
As stated above, revenge pornography is an act of crime. What is considered as a criminal act by law? “Sexual material not only covers images that show the genitals but also anything that a reasonable person would consider to be sexual, so this could be a picture of someone who is engaged in sexual behaviour or posing in a sexually provocative way.” – according to the UK’s Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. Those who are found guilty in the criminal act of revenge porn could face a sentence of 2 years in prison.
As an online content provider, you can protect your materials with a DMCA badge that if applied, contains an invisible tag in the meta description of your uploaded files. This helps them to immediately delete, or as they call it, take down your pictures and videos in case of unauthorized usage.
If you have experienced this type of abuse and harassment, please contact the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900 and speak to someone at your local Garda Victims Service Office.
