Revenge porn is the posting or public sharing of sexually explicit photographs or videos online without the consent of the person being pictured. It is typically posted by ex-relationship partners as a malicious way to “get back” at that person by extreme public humiliation, or is used as blackmail to leverage against others. Ironically, many of the images and footage that become eventual revenge porn are legally obtained during the course of a relationship with many images being taken by the targeted individual themselves.  

 

Advances in technology have made taking digital photos and videos very easy and inexpensive to accomplish.  Iphones and other portable electronic devices are becoming more compact and are able to store increased amounts of data, allowing users more opportunities to capture media surreptitiously. Revenge porn images are often accompanied by personal information including a person’s full name, contact information, or links to Facebook and social media profiles and addresses, all with the intent to humiliate and potentially endanger them.  

 

Revenge porn, and revenge porn websites, first came to prominence in the US resulting in legislation against it. Although it is still widely uncensored, there are currently nine US states that have outlawed it.  In Israel, a law was approved earlier this year making revenge porn a sex crime, with those charged facing up to five years in jail.  In Europe, a German court ruled that intimate photographs of partners should be deleted if the request is made by the pictured person. Brazil is seriously looking to pass legislation to outlaw the growing problem. As of now, the UK has no laws in place to prevent revenge porn from taking place.

 

In the United States, more and more states are rallying to legislate against it, however critics of revenge porn laws, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), worry that measures are so broadly written they would outlaw legitimate actions, for example posting a picture of a married politician having an affair.  Despite this, it is the general consensus worldwide that revenge porn is wrong and should be criminalized.