Revenge Porn: More Than Just A Vengeance Tool

On July 22, Netflix released a 3-parts docuseries called “The Most Hated Man On the Internet”. This docuseries followed the perspective of Charlotte Laws, the person who exposed IsAnyoneUp? as well as the founder, Hunter Moore, and his “cult followers”, after a nude photo of her daughter appeared on this website.

Source: Nhi Ta

Established in 2010 and dissolved in 2012, “IsAnyoneUp?” is a website that allows the users to post sexually explicit photos and personal information ex-lovers so that everyone on that website can watch, comment, and disdain.

What “IsAnyoneUp?” did is called “revenge porn", a type of digital abuse, known as non-consensual pornography, in which all the nude and sexually explicit media are shared with no consent from people in the media. It is a tool to get vengeance if a relationship ended badly. And we need more legal repercussions for revenge porn.

Hunter Moore, the founder of IsAnyoneUp? was sentenced to 30 months in prison for a hacking scheme into email accounts to steal nude photos to post on his website.

Let his punishment absorb in your mind for a moment. It seems like the sentence for Moore didn’t really fit with what he did to the victims whose sensitive photos were posted publicly.

In the U.S, 46 states have laws against revenge porn. Each state will define and punish revenge porn as a crime if the individual publishes or distributes the sexual media of a person on the internet without that person’s consent. But usually, most states will prosecute the case as misdemeanors.

It shows the laws are too lenient on the defenders who commit revenge porn and are unfair to the victims.

“The fact that you have a breakup with a significant other, which is generally where you see this type of crime,” said Professor Heather Brown, an adjunct professor on sex crime and culture at CSUF. “It doesn't mean that they get to terrorize you basically, with distributing images that you believed were shared in private.”

In California, revenge porn is classified as disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor with a punishment of up to 6 months in jail, and a fine of up to $1,000 under Cal. Penal Code § 647(j)(4)(A) for the first-time offender.

Still, there is no decent law that can hold revenge porn accountable or increase the punishment.

Professor Brown explained that it's a relatively new area of the law because we didn't always have the technological capabilities to share this type of information.

“Those images last forever out on the internet,” said Professor Brown. “It was only recently that they added that particular crime and so I think until the law enforcement is able to effectively investigate those crimes and actually secure convictions, the penalty or punishment is gonna stay low.”

In the article “Revenge Porn Laws: Learn How to Fight Back” by Aaron Minc, there is a very concerning statistic in which revenge porn victims are 90% women, while 68% of the victims are from ages 18 to 30.

Professor Chelsea Reynolds, an associate professor of Communication at CSUF, said revenge porn can affect an individual at a deeply personal level and be extremely traumatizing.

It is no longer a revenge tool. It is a destructive weapon that destroys the life of an individual in the most hateful way.

Even though the damage that revenge porn causes are malicious and hurtful, it is rarely prosecuted because the victims lose their privacy as a result of such misclassification, which makes them hesitant to assist the police.

Or worse, it cannot be prosecuted as sexual harassment or sexual abuse either.

Professor Reynolds observed that since revenge porn is sensitive and situational, it’s really important to seek out advice confidentially first, before making any decisions about whether you want to file a police report or more of an interpersonal communication issue that needs to be resolved.

“If an image has been passed on to hundreds or thousands of other people and it's impacting a student's ability to perform at school because it was passed along by another student, ” Professor Reynolds said. “That would definitely be a case where Title IX would probably want to get involved because it would be considered sex-based or gender-based discrimination.”

Revenge porn should be taken more seriously. This is the time of the #MeToo movement so if anyone is a victim of revenge porn, you need to report it in order to seek help. There is no need to worry about privacy because the services will keep it confidential.

The more revenge porn cases are reported and prosecuted, the more pressure on lawmakers to make or change a harder law on revenge porn and be prosecuted as sexual harassment. So that no one has to suffer the pains of this hideous crime.