The GEM Debate:
“Revenge Porn”: A Case For Common Sense?
Today’s debate is a hot one. How do we know? Because Rene and I have gone ’round and ’round about it before it even got to this page.
Several women have filed a class action lawsuit against GoDaddy.com, a website called Texxxan.com and individual users who post to the site after intimate photos of them that they took then sent to men they were dating, ended up on the site. Crazy, right? Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Is there legal precedence or is it a cautionary tale about information sharing?
ELLA’S TAKE: I think the Texxxan.com (and the site is down right now so don’t even bother looking) was wrong for not getting permission to use the pictures from the owners (the women). At issue, according to Associate Professor of Law at The University of Arizona, Derek Bambauer is, who ultimately owns the photos? His argument is the women might have a case if they go after the website using the copyright argument. My point is I don’t care what the women know about the Internet and how, if you put something out there, it might find its way into the wrong hands, the images did not belong to Texxxan.com so they cannot use them to make money. Period. You can post a picture for fun, turn it into some sort of wacky meme, even rate it and talk bad about the person, but once you start making money from it, you are wrong.
In my fabulous-at-40 phase, if I were to put some racy pictures out there and they were circulated I’d be flattered. However, using them to degrade and berate me for a price would get me upset. It has nothing to do with my brand or even my feelings. Cold, hard cash is hard to come by and if anyone is doing anything to make money off of any of my assets (yeah, pun totally intended), then I want my cut.
So for that I understand why these women are coming after Texxxan.com. If these women want to put it out there and Texxxan.com wants to profit that’s their choice – share the wealth, Buddy.
RENE’S TAKE: While Professor Bambauer uses the copyright argument, that’s not the suit filed by these women. According to Eric Goldman who teaches Internet and Intellectual Property Law at Santa Clara University School of Law, writes in this piece for Forbes, the lawsuit by these women is more than likely “dead on arrival.” The reason: the content is user-generated, and as such, the defendants are protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act regarding content uploaded by other people.
The part that really chaps me and it’s something I’m always harping on; personal responsibility. These women are mortified now because their images have been tainted and they want something done about it. I get that.
I also get that this “issue” wouldn’t even be an issue had they thought this out one step further. I guess all those years of being in the public eye have made me a little more cautious. Doing silly things (i.e. buying drugs, driving drunk, taking risque pictures of myself and sending them to third parties) risks ruining the brand I have spend years building. I see Ella’s point about what “should” and “should not” happen but frankly, that’s not the world we live in. We live in a world where slimy people do slimy things and the guys who turned these photos over fall squarely in that category. But knowing that, why ON EARTH, would you give someone else that kind of power over you?
In short, let me sum up my take using the words of John Wayne:
“Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.”
So what do you think? Are the women wrong for taking the pictures? Should Texxxan.com (or any of the defendants) have to pay? Does money make the difference or should people be more careful about what they send to others?
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Ella Rucker is the mother of one of the smartest, funniest two-year-olds she’s ever met. She is currently assistant to the head GEM which means hats-a-plenty including writing, editing, and producing for Good Enough Mother. An Ohio native implanted in NYC for the last 13 years, Ella has achieved one of her many dreams by writing. Her musings (she’s amused they’d be called “musings”) can be found at other places on the web so make sure you follow her on twitter@ellalaverne for all the information.
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