{"id":22654,"date":"2017-06-28T16:28:22","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T20:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/cyborgology\/?p=22654"},"modified":"2017-08-31T15:56:16","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T19:56:16","slug":"non-consensual-pornography-bodily-integrity-and-digital-prostheses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/cyborgology\/2017\/06\/28\/non-consensual-pornography-bodily-integrity-and-digital-prostheses\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Consensual Pornography, Bodily Integrity, and Digital Prostheses"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Non-consensual pornography\u2014frequently called \u201crevenge porn\u201d\u2014describes nude or sexually suggestive photos shared in a manner or context that the subject did not consent to, often with the intent to humiliate, intimidate, or extort the victim. In many cases, these pics are distributed by someone who received (or was allowed to take) them on the assumption that they would remain private.<\/span><\/p>\n

While non-consensual pornography is not unique to social media, these platforms have made it easier to distribute images anonymously\/pseudonymously to a wide audience<\/span>. Nude or sexual pics are non-consensually distributed through dedicated websites; subforms on Reddit, 4chan, and their many offshoots; \u201cdump accounts\u201d on Twitter or Tumblr; torrent sites (particularly for celeb photos); and the Dark Web (for underage or otherwise illegal content).<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past couple of years, non-consensual pornography has increasingly been discussed in the news media. One recent scandal that made headlines<\/a> centered on \u201cMarines United\u201d Facebook page, where current and former marines were caught sharing and commenting on images of their female colleagues. Many of these images were \u201ccreepshots\u201d taken without the knowledge of the women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another high profile incident occurred in 2014, when nearly 500 nude images of dozens of celebrities (mostly women) were leaked on message boards such as Reddit and 4chan; this event has been dubbed \u201cCelebgate\u201d (or \u201cThe Fappening\u201d). Hackers managed to steal these images by compromising the security of celebrities\u2019 own iCloud accounts. Though the original Celebgate hackers were caught and convicted, other hackers continue to target\u00a0celebrities and leak their photos<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most infamous hub for non-consensual pornography was isanyoneup.com, which allowed users to post amateur pics they took of ex girlfriends, people having sex at parties, women in public, etc (and in some cases paid contributors). The website existed for a couple years before its creator, Hunter Moore, shut it down in 2012, complaining that he had to spend an average of three hours a day reporting underage submissions. Moore said of his victims<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re just stupid people. All I really do is take advantage of them.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moore was eventually arrested and prosecuted in 2014. He accepted a plea deal of 2.5 years in prison for \u201cunauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information for purposes of private financial gain and one count of aggravated identity theft<\/a>.\u201d But he was only charged in connection with the files he purchased from hackers, not for the much larger number of lawfully obtained non-consensual pornographic images (and, yes, that sentence makes sense under current federal law).<\/span><\/p>\n

In light of these events and countless other incidences of sexual images shared without permission by former partners and friends\u2014or even strangers\u2014non-consensual pornography has become the focus of lobbying organizations such as Without My Consent<\/a>, campaigns by celebrities, and some journalists who have taken up this beat. One result of such attention is that several states have passed (or debated) criminal statutes<\/a> specific to prosecuting non-consensual pornography, but not the federal government.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the non-consensual sharing of pornographic images appears to be disturbingly widespread, it is difficult to track and tally these instances. Beyond the practical issue that it would be difficult to collect such information is the moral issue that such efforts could potentially bring further exposure and harm to victims. One thing we do know is that consensual sharing of pornographic images via digital media is increasingly common: A 2013 Pew survey<\/a>* found that 18% of people ages 18-29 report sending sexually suggestive pictures or video of themselves with a cell phone. 42% of people in this age group reported receiving such images. Responses were similar for both single people and those in relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

Historically, copyright has been the main legal tool for prosecuting non-consensual pornography (at least in case of selfies). I\u2019m certainly not going to criticize victims for using the only tools available, but this leads to absurd consequences\u2014not the least of which is that copyright tends to vindicate those who share images without consent if they happened to be the one taking the photo.<\/span><\/p>\n