A few months ago, BucketOrange Magazine brought you an article about revenge porn, its history and impacts, and what to do if intimate photos of you are published online without your consent.
UPDATE: After a recent spate of revenge porn attacks against hundreds of South Australian women on American website 4Chan (an image-based bulletin board where anyone can post pictures anonymously), Australian legislators are coming under increasing pressure to tighten legislation on revenge pornography.
Many countries have taken positive action to curb its proliferation. In February this year, a man was arrested in Japan under new revenge porn laws for scattering nude photos of his girl friend in a car park.
Canada has also legislated against revenge porn. The distribution of intimate images without the consent of the subject can result in several years imprisonment. New Zealand is considering amendments to its Privacy Act that would allow victims up to $200,000 compensation, while the UK has introduced legislation that criminalises malicious distribution of explicit images without consent of the victim with a penalty of 2 years imprisonment. 17 states in the United States have also made revenge pornography legislation in some form.
Google’s new policy
In an unprecedented move announced on Friday, Google has weighed into the growing problem by announcing that it will now remove revenge porn images from its search results.
In the next few weeks, Google will provide a form allowing individuals to request naked or sexually explicit images of themselves to be removed from search results, where they did not consent to their publication.
Google joins Twitter who has updated its terms of service to ban the distribution of revenge porn.
Australian laws need to be strengthened in line with international standards, and perpetrators must be prosecuted, if any real action is to be taken to stop the proliferation of online sexual attacks and revenge pornography crimes on the internet.
While it is not a complete solution, Google’s move to limit public accessibility of revenge porn in its search results is a definitely step in the right direction.
Further information:
If you or someone you know has been the victim of revenge porn contact:
- Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN)
- Local police assistance line: 131444
- National Counselling Helpline: 1800 737 732 (for assistance and practical strategies on how to cope with the ongoing effects of revenge porn) or
For practical strategies on how to deal revenge porn, read our previous post here.
