Corona Daily 279: Revenge Porn

Jane and John were madly in love with each other. Jane had a lovely figure. John wanted to photograph her nude. For his eyes only, he said lovingly. Jane agreed. John’s powerful smartphone captured dozens of Jane’s images, from different angles.

A year later they broke-up. Jane refused to answer John’s calls any more. John went to a popular “Revenge Porn” site, uploaded Jane’s naked photos one after another, each photo attached with her complete contact information. Jane began receiving emails, calls, FB requests from strangers, most of them brazenly asking for sex.

When Jane went to the police, the officers said they wouldn’t be able to do anything because her ex had not violated her state’s criminal harassment laws. He had not even secretly photographed her; he had done it with her consent.

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Nonconsensual pornography (NCP) also known as “Revenge Porn” means showing, sending or posting nude or nearly nude photos or videos of someone (usually a female) without her consent. The images may be created consensually, as in Jane’s case. Or secretly or forcibly. The images or videos may be posted by exes like John, or they may be hacked, with the hacker posting stolen images.

This is a relatively new cybercrime. In a 2015 survey, four out of five American adults said they sent or received explicit texts and photos at some point. One in every 25 Americans has been a victim of threats/posts of their nude images without their permission. LGBT people get affected more.

Emma Denny, courageous enough to give her real name, was having sex with her boyfriend, looking away. When she turned around, he was filming her on his phone. The boy, her first love, was a control freak. He dictated the clothes she should wear, and the length of her hair. He sent the video to the school’s football team. The thought of everyone at school seeing her video traumatized Denny. Denny’s mother was devastated her daughter had to go through this. In the lockdown, Denny remained depressed. She would cry, take prescribed medicines, and wouldn’t eat. The trauma, she said, was going to be stuck with her.

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Katie Hill, a Californian Democrat in the House of Representatives, was a headline case. Her compromising photographs with a female colleague were published by RedState, a Conservative website, and the Daily Mail. Katie Hill had to resign and her career was derailed.

The “Nth room” case in South Korea involved blackmailing, cybersex trafficking and spreading sexually exploitative videos. A Korean nicknamed God God used an app called telegram. At least 103 women, including 26 minors were the victims. God God was arrested in May 2020.

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In pandemic times, online dating and cybersex have boomed. In the lockdown period, the pornography industry responded by providing free access to content, a promotion that drew harsh criticism from activists fighting against sexual exploitation.

The use of Tinder and Grindr, dating and intimacy apps, has increased drastically. Bumble has gone up 84% in video calls, and an adult platform OnlyFans reports a 75% increase in subscribers.

Cybersex, even from the safety of your own house, can be unsafe. As people innocently display their bodies online, they risk harassment and sexploitation. The victims can lose their jobs and dignity, with lives and careers ruined. In terms of trauma, this is comparable to sexual assault and stalking. Domestic violence and tech abuse go hand in hand. Abusers or hackers can post photos and videos to social media sites, dating apps or send them to the person’s employer.

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Recognizing the threat of this new cybercrime, in the past six years, 43 American states have introduced Revenge Porn laws. Outside the US, only Germany, UK, Canada, Israel and Australia have passed legislation. Cybercrimes are universal. Other countries need to wake up and pass laws urgently.

Ravi