Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) obtained a permanent injunction  from a Nevada federal court that permanently shuts down MyEx.com, a website devoted to revenge porn. The court also entered a default judgment against the owners of the site, EMP Media, Inc., and Shad Applegate, also known as Shad Cotelli. The defendants are required to pay more than $2 million to the FTC. They also have to permanently delete all of the intimate photos and personal information that had been uploaded to the site.

“Revenge porn” is a term used to describe the “disclosure of sexually explicit images of an individual without their consent” (other terms include “non-consensual pornography” and “non-consensual image-sharing”). Revenge porn includes photos taken or obtained without the victim’s consent. It also includes photos obtained with consent but then published or distributed without the victim’s consent.

According to the FTC’s complaint, MyEx.com marketed the site as a way for people to get revenge on their former spouses and partners. The site encouraged people to upload intimate photos and videos of their former spouses and partners, together with other personal information, such as the victim’s name, age, address, employer, phone number, social media account information, and email address.

MyEx.com’ “business plan” was hardly a secret. The site included statements in its ads like “MyEx GET REVENGE!”, “Naked Pics of Your Ex” and “Get the dirt before you get hurt or submit your ex gf and bf and get revenge!” Of course, the name itself is a dead giveaway.

Once photos were uploaded to MyEx.Com, they were publicly available and viewable by anyone, including the victim’s family, friends, co-workers and employers. Since the victim’s photos were associated with their real name, their social media account and other personally-identifiable information, the photos could also be found through a search for the victim’s name in Google or other search engines.

Many victims didn’t find out that their photos and personal information had been posted on MyEx.com until they were contacted by strangers through text messages, emails, or social media.

While MyEx.com may have been about revenge for the people who posted photos on the site, it was all about money to the defendants. Victims who contacted the site and asked for their photos to be taken down were asked to pay anywhere from $499 to $2,800. In some cases, the site requested recurring payments.

Revenge porn can cause immediate, devastating and irreversible harm to its victims. Some have lost jobs. Others have been harassed by strangers on social medial or subjected to threatening phone calls and lewd comments about their bodies and alleged promiscuity.

Almost all victims live in fear that future employers or spouses will find their photos through search engines. The fear of future harm is real and shouldn’t be underestimated. It can lead to depression and anxiety which causes  economic harm in the form medical expenses, prescriptions and mental health care. Victims who try to get information removed from revenge porn sites – or who seek relief from harassment – have to hire lawyers and pay legal fees. They also have to spend substantial time working with law enforcement.

Revenge porn is unfortunately on the rise. In a recent study, 4% of the participants told researchers that another person had posted or threatened to post “sexually-explicit images of them without their consent.”

If someone has posted or has threatened to post intimate photos, videos or images of you online, you have legal remedies. Don’t hesitate to contact my office if this has happened to you. There’s no fee for an initial consultation.

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