In the aftermath of her failed relationship with Mortie Fyed, Ima Riled did the unthinkable: She uploaded sexually explicit photos and videos of Mortie online – photos Mortie sent Ima in confidence. Ima allegedly posted them to scores of revenge porn sites, online hubs where scorned exes publish intimate photos without their former lovers’ consent. Mortie says she attached his name, email address and a screenshot of his Facebook profile to the nude photos along with vulgar commentary about him. Knowing that he was a teaching assistant at a local university, Riled allegedly uploaded a video of Fyed with the title “Sex 201 by Professor Mortie.” There’s gotta be a law against it, right?
Only in New Jersey. Called “revenge porn,” or the less-salacious “cyber revenge,” the trend has been around for years, spawning entire websites that profit from these images. To date, only New Jersey’s makes it illegal for anyone to “disclose any photograph, film, videotape, recording or any other reproduction of the image of another person whose intimate parts are exposed or who is engaged in an act of sexual penetration or sexual contact, unless that person has consented to such disclosure.” Not living in New Jersey, Mortie Fyed sued his ex for invasion of privacy, public disclosure of private facts and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sixteen women in Texas filed a class action lawsuit against their revenge porn exes seeking to have the photographs removed from the websites. Many proprietors of revenge porn websites claim they are protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that websites are not liable for content submitted by users.
California Attempts to Criminalize. A California bill passed the Senate making revenge porn a misdemeanor akin to disorderly conduct, but had to weather an ACLU claim: If you take a photo of someone with their permission, you’re the copyright holder and legally should be able to do with the photo as you please! Moreover, many contend that there are plenty of existing laws available to protect against revenge porn – child pornography, anti-harassment and anti-stalking laws, to name a few.
Sexting. Revenge porn is really no different from sexting. While they were dating, if Mortie sent Ima a personal pornographic photo, that was subsequently distributed (perhaps multiple times), was a law violated? Worse yet, what about holding responsible the next person who distributes the photo? For example if Mortie sends a photo to Ima who then forwards it to her best friend Ed without telling him the background, should Ed be held liable for distributing the picture? I suspect only if Mortie was under 18.
Tilting the Scales in Your Favor. Like a secret that is something “not meant to be known as such by others,” intimate photographs which are shared with anyone are no longer secret. The obvious answer is don’t. But wait, there’s more! Check out SnapChat, a mobile app that allows the photographer to take a picture or video and, just like Mr. Phelps on Mission Impossible, the recording will self-destruct in a designated one to ten seconds – but it does not stop the recipient from taking a screenshot!
