A new report from the Data & Society Research Institute and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research reports that 4% of U.S. internet users—roughly 10.4 million Americans—have been threatened with or experienced the posting of explicit images without their consent. The report, “Nonconsensual Image Sharing,” is based on a nationally-representative telephone survey offers the first national statistics on the prevalence of nonconsensual pornography, also known as “revenge porn” or “cyber exploitation.”
Among the findings:
- Roughly 3% of online Americans have had someone threaten to post nude or nearly nude photos or videos of them online to hurt or embarrass them;
- 2% have had someone post an explicit photo or video of them online without their permission.
- Taken together, 4% of U.S. internet users—roughly 10.4 million Americans—have been a victim of cyber exploittion through threats or actual posting of sensitive images.
In addition, close to half (43% ) of those who have endured threats of the posting of nude photos or have had photos posted online also report that someone has hacked into their online account or computer and stolen sensitive personal information. This compares with only 12% of those who haven’t been threatened with or experienced the exposure of these images but who report similar hacking of their accounts or devices.
The highest response rates for someone having either been threatened and/or had photos posted are among:
- the LGBT Community (17%);
- Women ages 15-29 (12%); and
- Young adults age 18-29 (10%).
Thirty-four states have laws addressing cyber exploitation.
Featured Image: By AndrewHorne (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
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