How should the online publication of explicit images without their subjects’ consent be punished?

[eridani]

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21606307-how-should-online-publication-explicit-images-without-their-subjects-consent-be

At least 3,000 porn websites around the world feature the revenge genre, and the number is rising, says John Di Giacomo of Revision Legal, a Michigan-based law firm. Women’s charities in Britain and America say more victims are contacting them for help all the time. (Men are occasionally targeted, too.) In Japan the number of cases reported to police more than tripled, to 27,334, between 2008 and 2012.

The consequences for the unwitting subjects can be severe, including damage to their future relationships and careers. Ms Chiarini was harassed online. Others have had abusive strangers turn up at their doors. In the past couple of years several are known to have killed themselves.

Yet victims often find themselves without legal recourse. Many countries have laws against harassment or “malicious communication”, but these generally target repeated actions, direct contacts and verbal or physical threats. Copyright law cannot help if the person who publishes an image also took it. Even if it was snapped by the subject (one survey suggests that such “selfies” make up a large share of all revenge porn), getting it taken down is slow and costly. And during the delay it may be republished elsewhere.

If images were stolen or obtained by subterfuge, a victim may have some redress. In February a jury in Texas awarded $500,000 to a woman whose ex-boyfriend posted a pornographic video he recorded during a Skype call. But few victims bring such cases. Costs can reach $100,000 and legal proceedings will draw unwanted attention to the images. And most countries absolve websites that host user-generated material of legal responsibility for it. (Child pornography is usually an exception.) After “basically begging” a site to remove images of herself, Bekah Wells, a Florida student, found her written appeal and photos featured on its home-page.