Are we living in the end days of “revenge-ography.” Last week alone saw the arrest of a website proprietor and the introduction of a new revenge porn law in Pennsylvania.

California Man Arrested and Charged For Running a Website Racket

A California man may spend 2 years behind bars thanks to an extortion racket. His dastardly business plan involved two websites, ugotposted.com and changemyreputation.com. On ugotposted.com he solicited compromising pictures of women from disgruntled ex-lovers. Disturbingly, “content providers” included victims’ full names, locations, ages, and Facebook Profiles. On changemyreputation.com, he charged the women hundreds of dollars to remove pictures and information. According to the police, the operation made tens of thousands of dollars.

How Is revenge Porn Legal and Will It Be Stopped Anytime Soon?

Simply stated, Revenge porn is childish. And in a country that loses their collective mind over a nipple slip at a half-time show, the fact that revenge porn is, technically, legal in many states has a lot of people wringing their hands and asking, “WHY!?” The answer: property and copyright laws.

It’s Only Legal If The Victim Originally Sent or agreed to the Picture or Video Being Used

Revenge porn is only legal if the victim originally gave or consented to the material. For example: if somebody let his or her lover take a nudie pic or sex tape, or if somebody sent a selfie to another person. Revenge porn is NOT legal if the person wasn’t aware you were recording/photographing them.

States Are Eagerly Drafting and Passing Revenge Porn Laws

Recognizing its harmful effect on victims, many states are now passing laws illegalizing revenge porn – even when the victim had originally sent or gave permission for the pics. Maryland, New York and more than a handful of other states are in the process of passing revenge porn laws. In fact, just last week, Pennsylvania legislators introduced a bill that would make “revenge porn-ing” a second-degree misdemeanor that carries a 2-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $5,000.

In other words, the days of revenge porn website may soon be over.

Lawyer For Revenge Porn Lawsuits

Do you have a revenge porn issue? Do you want to consult a lawyer about the matter? Contact Kelly Warner Law. We’ve handled several revenge porn cases and understand the expediency and confidentiality required. Think of us as revenge porn doctors – we’ve seen it all and nothing shocks us; we’re just here to help make the damage go away.