Landmark Victories for Revenge Porn Opponents

Last week saw the announcement of two major victories in the battle against revenge porn. First,.Kevin Bollaert was convicted by a San Diego County jury of 27 felony counts of identity theft and extortion in connection with a revenge porn operation. Bollaert was behind the website UGotPosted and at the time of his indictment, California Attorney General Kamala Harris stressed

his website published intimate photos of unsuspecting victims and turned their public humiliation and betrayal into a commodity with the potential to devastate lives. Online predators that profit from the extortion of private photos will be investigated and prosecuted for this reprehensible and illegal internet activity.

Bollaert required users to include the subject’s full name, location, age and Facebook profile link. In October 2012, Bollaert also launched a site called changemyreputation.com and collected $30,000 to have their photos removed from UGotPosted.

At trial, one victim testified,“I lost my family. They think that I brought shame on them. My reputation is ruined.”

Bollaert has given a post-conviction interview expressing regret, but prosecutors are not persuaded.

In addition, Craig Brittain operator of revenge porn site IsAnybodyDown entered into a settlement with the FTC requiring him to permanently delete all of the images and other personal information he received during the time he operated the site. He will also be prohibited from publicly sharing intimate videos or photographs of people without their affirmative express consent, as well as being prohibited from misrepresenting how he will use any personal information he collects online.

Writing in the Atlantic, Danielle Citron and Woodrow Hartzog stressed the importance of these victories:

There is a budding movement, underscored by this recent FTC complaint, recognizing that information shared in confidential relationships deserves protection. California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris is prosecuting revenge-porn businesses exploiting confidential communications for financial ends. (Yesterday, the jury convicted revenge-porn operator Kevin Bollaert on several charges of extortion and identity theft.) Businesses are now on notice that it is illegal to exploit information shared in confidence and with an expectation of privacy. Stalking-app providers and revenge-porn site operators should heed the warning: Repurposing confidential relationships, and the information shared in them, for commercial gain could prompt action by consumer-protection agencies.

As a firm that represents victims of revenge porn, we applaud both prosecutions and share Ms. Citron’s and Mr. Hartzog’s enthusiasm.

View this document on Scribd