Shocked woman looking at revenge porn of herself on her phone.

“Revenge porn”, as it is most frequently referred to, has seen increased media attention in the past few weeks with the release of a new Netflix docuseries as well as a renewed push for federal legislation to provide victims with federal civil recourse. The term “revenge porn” refers to the nonconsensual image sharing of nude or sexually explicit photographs or videos without the permission of the individual pictured. With the pervasive use of social media and the expansion of technology, these sensitive images and videos can be shared quickly and with relative ease to the substantial detriment of the individual depicted, who did not consent to share the images with the public. While headlines have mostly focused on celebrities whose private photos and videos have been accessed and distributed, at times by skilled hackers, “revenge porn” has become a pervasive issue for all internet users across the United States. It has been used by romantic partners after a breakup or fight to intimidate or harass a current or former partner. In a joint Data Memo release in 2016, the Data & Society Research Institute and Center for Innovative Public Health Research reported that “4% of internet users – one in 25 online Americans – have either had sensitive images posted without their permission or had someone threaten to post photos of them.” The most targeted group is young women. This study found that “one in 10 women under the age of 30 have experienced threats of non-consensual image sharing.”1

A new release on Netflix, “The Most Hated Man on the Internet”, highlights the trauma and cruelty that individuals, mostly women, experience when their nude and at times explicit photos are posted on the internet without their permission. This docuseries focuses on Hunter Moore, the founder of IsAnyoneUp.com, whose website posted explicit pictures of men and women without their permission; some of which were obtained through hacking of victims’ computers. The self-proclaimed “King of Revenge Porn” operated in a void at the time his website was running as the laws in place made it difficult to prosecute such offenses. While Hunter Moore did serve prison time for aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting unauthorized access to computers, the series most importantly focuses on the crusade of his victims to obtain justice and change the way the law addresses “revenge porn.” With the constantly changing social media landscape and opportunities for bad actors to find loopholes, attempting to prosecute these offenders under existing laws for hacking, identity theft, extortion, and even copyright laws seemed inadequate given the sensitive nature of material and severity of the privacy violation.

Due to the inadequacy of these existing laws and the increase in “revenge porn” on the internet, lawmakers at both federal and state levels have worked to craft legislation to criminalize this behavior and provide other remedies to its victims. On a federal level, Senator Margaret Wood Hasson (D-NH) introduced the Intimate Imagery and Privacy Protection Act in 2020, which has been incorporated as part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA). This Act would establish a federal civil course of action for individuals whose private images are disclosed without their permission providing them monetary damages up to $150,000.00 as well as restraining orders and injunctions to prevent further distribution of such private images. While being introduced over a year and a half ago, it was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for review and still awaits a vote by Congress.

While the federal government seeks to establish a national redress for victims, North Carolina has had an established criminal statute and civil course of action since 2015. The “Disclosure of Private Images; Civil Action” Statute in North Carolina (N.C.G.S. §14-109.5A) makes it a criminal act to knowingly disclose an image of another person with the intent to coerce, harass, intimidate, demean, humiliate, or cause financial loss to the depicted person, or cause others to do the same. These images depict the “intimate parts” of another or depicted the person engaged in sexual conduct as defined by the statute. When this law was originally enacted, it limited the types of images and the nature of the relationships that were covered by this statute. To expand the law and cover more acts of “revenge porn”, North Carolina updated the statute in 2017 to include live streams and recordings in the definition of “images” as well as expand images to those captured outside of a personal relationship. A violation of this statute is a Class H felony for an offense by a person over the age of 18, and a Class 1 misdemeanor for an offense by a person under the age of 18.

In addition to the criminal repercussions of committing such an offense in North Carolina, the statute also provides victims with the opportunity to sue the individual who disclosed such images for actual and punitive damages in addition to attorney’s fees. The first known case in North Carolina that went to a jury trial for this civil claim of “revenge porn” occurred in 2019. In Clark v. Clark, which was litigated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, the Wife alleged that her ex-husband and his new girlfriend were distributing revealing images of her online without her permission. 208 N.C. App. 384, 867 S.E.2d 743 (2021). The wife sued her ex-husband and his new girlfriend for unlawful disclosure of private images, libel, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress and was awarded a whopping $2 million dollars.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of revenge porn, it is important to talk with an experienced attorney who can help you navigate your options and ensure you’re taking the right steps to protect yourself.

1 “Nonconsensual Image Sharing”, Lenhart, Amanda, Ybarra, Michele, & Price-Feeney, Myeshia, Data & Society Research Institute and Center for Innovative Public Health Research, December 13, 2016.

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