Kenton J. Hutcherson Attorney, Hutcherson Law, PLLC
SPRING 2018 ISSUE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND LIABILITY
With the introduction of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, the unauthorized distribution of intimate photos and videos has become a growing threat. Whether the images were shared by a jealous ex or a known enemy, there are options for individuals whose private moments were distributed without their consent. This article provides the remedies to consider if you or someone you know is a victim of an unfortunate case of revenge porn.
Imagine seeing intimate images or videos of yourself plastered across the Internet or available for purchase without your consent. Anger, embarrassment, and all around devastation are proper emotions. After all, those pictures and videos were taken of you in trust with the understanding that they would never be shared with anyone else, let alone the entire world.
If you are the victim of “revenge porn”—the disclosure of intimate photos or videos on the Internet or otherwise without the depicted person’s consent to the disclosure—you are not alone. Revenge porn is a far bigger problem than most people realize. A recent study published by the Data & Society Research Institute and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research found that 4% of Americans are the victims of revenge porn. Think of twenty-five of your friends. Chances are at least one of them has been traumatized as a victim of revenge porn. That is horrible! Victims of revenge porn come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and walks of life. And, both men and women are prone to suffer from revenge porn. Make no mistake about it—revenge porn is not okay; it is morally repugnant. And now in Texas, it is a crime. If you are the victim of revenge porn, here is what you need to know.
You Can Report Revenge Porn to Google, Bing, and Yahoo!
One of the best things you can do is to fight back to have the visual material removed from the Internet search engines. Many victims are pleasantly surprised to learn that this does not have to be a daunting, long procedure. If the other person shared your images online, the top search engines, Google, Bing, and Yahoo!, want to know so that they can protect your privacy.
Report the links with the images. This will take them out of search results making them harder to find when someone searches Google, Bing, or Yahoo! for your name.
Report your intimate private photos or videos with Google here.
Report your intimate private photos or videos with Bing and Yahoo! here.
The Texas Relationship Privacy Act
For most victims, having the images scrubbed from search results is not enough. You want to hold the person who harmed you accountable for their actions. To do this, you are encouraged to take advantage of the Texas Relationship Privacy Act. The Texas Relationship Privacy Act went into effect in September 2015. This act was designed to protect victims of revenge porn with both civil and criminal law remedies.
Criminal Law Remedies The new criminal statutory provision created by the Texas Relationship Privacy Act is Texas Penal Code Section 21.16. This provision makes it illegal to disclose (whether on the Internet or otherwise) visual material depicting another person:
with their intimate parts exposed or engaged in sexual conduct without that person’s effective consent,
where the person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private,
where the disclosure caused harm to the depicted person, and
where the disclosure reveals the identity of the depicted person, even if such identifying information is provided by a third party.
It is important to note here that the other person cannot use your consent during the creation of the visual material as a defense. What makes it illegal is the disclosure of these materials to others without your consent. Even threatening to disclose the visual material in exchange for a benefit is illegal under this new law. Violating this law constitutes a Class A misdemeanor, which means it is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine up to $5,000.
To press charges under this statute, you should call the police and tell them you want to press charges under the Texas Relationship Privacy Act, which is in Texas Penal Code Section 21.16. Since it is a new law, you should provide the police with the specific statutory provisions.
Civil Law Remedies The Texas Relationship Privacy Act also allows you to file a civil lawsuit. The new statutory provision, Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 98B.001, et seq., creates a civil cause of action that provides several remedies. Those remedies include (1) monetary damages to compensate you for mental anguish and other harm, (2) exemplary damages, which are damages designed to punish the wrongdoer for their unlawful conduct, (3) court costs, (4) reasonable attorney’s fees, and (5) injunctive relief, which is a court order mandating that the defendant take action to remove the offending material and to prevent future disclosures of the material. You can sue any person who discloses your private visual material, or who promotes it on the Internet.
If you wish to pursue this route, contact an Internet lawyer with extensive experience in revenge porn cases.
The Internet has been around for decades. Now, finally, the law is catching up with the harmful ways people are using its connectivity to hurt others.
If you are a victim of revenge porn, it is not your fault. Although it is devastating to see your personal images displayed and sold online, there is hope knowing the Texas legislature has deemed revenge porn unlawful. With civil and criminal remedies available, you have options when it comes to fighting back against the person or persons who harmed you.
