Reputation Management

Revenge Porn Defined

Article by Fix Bad Reputation.

Revenge porn could also be described as “non-consensual pornography”, as the perpetrators aren’t always motivated by revenge. Revenge porn can take all kinds of forms, from using a hidden camera to spy on someone in a compromising position to hacking phones or recording a sexual assault on a webcam.

This category can also include images that someone obtains consensually as the result of an intimate relationship. It’s exploitive, turning someone’s ex partner or friend into sexual entertainment for others is morally wrong. Those types of images and videos also tend to dominate the search engines when looking for someone of that name. This can ruin someone’s reputation online, cost them employment, or devastate a relationship.

Not only that, victims of this type of aggression tend to be harassed online for long periods of time. They can become the laughing stock of a school or place of employment, and sex traffickers use these videos and images to trap people into the sex trade.

What legal recourse exists for these individuals? It can be difficult to seek justice in these situations. More often than not, the victim will have a difficult time with the burden of proof in a court of law. They must also show that this behavior is part of a pattern that was intended to harm the victim. Voyeurism laws have yet to catch up to this type of behavior, and it disproportionately affects women and girls.

There are laws that are being drawn up to address this kind of behavior, but we are a long way off from a permanent solution. In fact, nearly every state in the union has some law either on the books or being debated. In California, for instance, it’s a disorderly conduct violation that can carry a fine of up to $1,000.

If you find yourself being the victim of this type of crime, here are the steps you should take:

• Contact an attorney and explain your case. Learn your rights in greater detail and see if you have grounds to sue.
• Contact Google. Prove that your pictures were shared without your consent, and that it was intended to be private. This should help remove your pictures from the search engine.
• Contact a reputation management company for a long term plan.

These situations rarely resolve themselves, and often take several months or years before your content is completely removed. That’s why you need reputation management companies to help protect your identity and make sure your search engine results are clean.