Today, ladies, the Federal Trade Commission is on your side.
The FTC is shutting down revenge porn site “IsAnybodyDown.”
Operated by Craig Brittain, IsAnybodyDown was a receptacle for nude photos of women obtained through deceptive means. According to the FTC, Brittain would go on Craigslist posing as a woman and ask other women to exchange nude photos. He then would take those photos and post them on his site without their knowledge.
Brittain also set up a bounty program. Users could earn a minimum of $100 for turning in information about a specific person. Within the site’s lifetime, Brittain amassed information and photos of 1,000 people.
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What’s worse, Brittain would post full names, addresses, phone numbers, and Facebook screenshots alongside the photos. Women who ended up on the site received harassing phone calls and other unwanted contact from strangers.
When these women found out about the site and asked for their photos to be removed, Brittain redirected them to a “removal service” where they had to pay anywhere from $200 to $500 to have images taken off the site.
The FTC is not only having the site taken down, it’s also forcing Brittain to delete “all of the images and other personal information he received during the time he operated the site.” He’s also prohibited from sharing intimate videos and photographs of people without their consent.
Shockingly, it doesn’t seem like the FTC is issuing any kind financial penalty. Hopefully, these women will sue Brittain for all he’s worth in civil court — I know I would.
