What are your rights to privacy — and what can a California lawyer do to help if those rights are violated? A new case may shed some light on those questions.
A San Diego man faces 31 felony counts, including identity theft and extortion, stemming from an alleged “revenge porn” site he operated, as well as a second service in which he offered to remove the victims’ photos for a fee. Revenge porn is typically uploaded by former lovers for the purpose of humiliation.
Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, is accused of posting more than 10,000 sexually explicit photos, as well as extorting victims for as much as $350 each to remove the pictures from the site. He reportedly earned around $900 per month from advertisers — and tens of thousands more from victims.
The charges were the result of a six-month investigation by the California Attorney General’s eCrime division. Bollaert was not charged under California’s new revenge porn statute, SB 255, which makes it a misdemeanor to post identifiable nude photos online without the subject’s permission. The statute took effect after the Bollaert investigation began.
Bollaert allegedly obtained full name, location, age and Facebook profile information for the subjects. Obtaining personal identifying information for unlawful purposes, including with the intent to annoy or harass, violates the California Penal Code.
The legal landscape remains complex for criminal prosecution of, and civil damages from, revenge porn purveyors. Each case presents unique issues, such as:
- Victims of revenge porn are often reluctant to come forward, fearing that doing so would only draw more attention to the embarrassing photos.
- Some bold victims have sued for copyright infringement on “selfie” shots. But even a successful copyright suit cannot force the removal of the photos from websites other than the defendant’s. Typically, when a revenge porn site disappears, the images reappear elsewhere, because they were cached and reposted.
- While misdemeanor violators can face up to six months in jail and fines of $1,000, the statutes generally do not cover “selfies” — photos taken by the subjects themselves — which are a common source of revenge porn pictures.
Revenge porn victims, however, may be able to hit the purveyors in their pocketbooks by pursuing causes of actions such as invasion of privacy or harassment. If you have questions about your privacy rights and remedies, contact Angeloff, Angeloff & Levine for a free initial consultation.
