Attorney Explains: How To Remove Content From Revenge Websites
There are many situations when people try to extort or blackmail you of money by using threats like posting revenge content on social media or dedicated websites. A lot of the time, these threats work and people end up paying money to those scammers, just to avoid embarrassing content from making its way onto social media.
How Do revenge Pictures get distributed on websites?
Usually, revenge content is shared in a variety of ways. The victim sends an image or video to the affected person, and that’s supposed to stay private. Yet the person receiving it will extort the sender so they can make some money. Other times, the scammer might take a photo of the victim during an online chat or call, obviously without their consent.
Another common situation is when the hacker will get into the victim’s apps, computer or phone, maybe even in the cloud. They have access to inappropriate, private content and they download a copy to use in a maleficent manner.
How can we define revenge Content?
Revenge content entails any type of nude image that was published online without a person’s consent. It’s a type of image abuse, although it doesn’t have to be limited just to photos. It can also be any type of media, such as videos. Needless to say, revenge content can be very problematic and damaging for anyone, regardless of their age.
It can pose a threat to anyone’s reputation, not to mention it can lead to trauma, emotional damage and other similar issues. On top of that, revenge content is classified as a misdemeanor or felony in certain US states. So, depending on where the abuser lives, they could face legal consequences. But what can you do to remove revenge content from websites? Here are some tips!
Retain Legal Counsel
An attorney is best suited to help you with your online revenge content case. From issuing demand letters, to proceeding with DMCA takedowns and online reports, a lawyer is likely the best suited to help you out of this situation.
File a revenge Content lawsuit
A very good way of removing content from revenge content websites is to file a lawsuit. Yes, lawsuits are a great way for you to ensure you tackle any defamation issues. It’s very important to contact a team of legal experts that can help you with preparing and filing the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit won’t be against Google or the site where that revenge content is published, instead it will focus on the individual that published the content. During the lawsuit, that person who defamed you will be identified via the website’s info, under the cyberstalking/harassment laws.
Notify Google with a revenge Content notice
Google has its own instructions that pertain to revenge content and personal imagery. You can get in touch with them and let them know that you want those images taken down. However, just because you reported this to Google, that doesn’t mean the image will be completely removed from everywhere. It won’t remove the image from other search engines. And also, some pages might not be ranked on Google, but they could still have your images. It still gives a peace of mind, so it’s definitely worth considering.
Issue a DMCA Takedown Notice
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act from 1998 can be used to issue a DMCA notice that forces websites to take content down. That means your copyrighted work is being used without permission. The idea here is that if you took a picture of yourself, you own the copyright. You want to be 100% sure you own the copyright for those images before you issue any DMCA takedown notice.
Send an email to the website hosting your revenge Content images
Contacting the website and letting them know they are hosting your private images could also help. Let them know that those images are yours, they were placed on the website without consent, and hopefully they get to remove them as quickly as possible. Alternatively, you can also connect with the person that posted the content and tell them to just remove the content, if possible. It is in your best interest to work with an attorney that can send a cease and desist letter, those can be very effective.
It's always extremely important to try and remove content from revenge content websites. That way, you can prevent any extortion or blackmail. With that in mind, contacting the person who posted those images/videos or the website might not be enough. A lot of the time, you need to send a DMCA takedown notice or use the services of a legal professional to tackle that problem and get those images removed quickly!
