Adam Steinbaugh's

In the wake of a Florida bill to criminalize revenge porn (which died after failing to receive a final vote before the Florida legislative session ended), a California state senator has introduced Senate Bill 255.  SB255, as introduced by Sen. Anthony Canella (R-Ceres) would make it a misdemeanor to engage in a wide variety of acts associated with “revenge porn” — the practice of sharing nude photos of someone in order to sate a fleeting desire for revenge.

While I largely agree with Eugene Volokh (UCLA law professor and renowned First Amendment scholar) that revenge porn is not likely protected by the First Amendment (and I take great pride in shaming revenge pornographers), any legislative attempt to provide legal remedies for revenge porn victims must be narrowly drawn in order to be effective.  If a bill is drafted in a manner that reaches too much protected speech, a revenge porn defendant might successfully escape prosecution by challenging the statute on overbredth grounds.

While the bill is in its earliest stages and can hopefully be amended, SB255 as drafted goes too far, criminalizing even linking to a revenge porn post.

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This will be a quick post, but in my ongoing research into revenge porn and online extortion, I stumbled across (h/t Mandy Nagy) this press release and recently-unsealed complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan.  It alleges, essentially, that a New York man — Adam Paul Savader — used a variety of Google Voice numbers to text women under the monicker “John Smith.”  ”Smith” told the women that he had nude photos of them (or, in one victim’s case, her mother) and that he would post more online if they did not send more nude photos.  He allegedly threatened to send the photos to their family members, sorority sisters, and the Republican National Committee, telling one that everyone in “D.C” would see the nude photos.  The unidentified victims apparently attended the same college as Savader.

On Twitter, Adam Savader brags that he was “Formerly @PRyan’s sole intern on @MittRomney’s campaign and a @newtgingrich campaign staffer” and notes that his website is savader.com.  The whois registration for the site lists his abode as being the same Great Neck, NY address as the address affiliated with the IP address used to register many of the online accounts allegedly used in the sextortion plot.

Savader is charged with internet extortion in violation of 18 USC 875(d) and cyberstalking in violation of 18 USC 2261A(2).  While no money was apparently demanded of the victims, at least one court of Appeals has held (PDF) that demanding even intangibles can constitute a “thing of value” for purposes of the internet extortion statute.

It should go without saying that, if true, this kind of behavior is contemptuous, regardless of partisan affiliation.  There are creeps on every side of the aisle.

(h/t Mandy Nagy)

Charles Carreon has been ordered (PDF) to pay $46,100.25 in attorneys fees to the once-anonymous blogger behind Satirical Chas.

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While much focus has been on IsAnybodyDown (now known as “ObamaNudes”) and the antics of truth-challenged Craig Brittain, the largest revenge porn site is YouGotPosted (aka “ugotposted”).  This lowly blog receives far more visitors searching for YouGotPosted than for any other revenge porn site, and far more victims of that site contact me than victims of Craig Brittain.

YouGotPosted’s ride, however, is about to come to a crashing halt, as the result of a lawsuit filed by ViaView (parent company of Bullyville).  The site’s remaining operators – Eric Chanson, Kevin Bollaert, Chanson’s parents (Roy and Amy Chanson), and “Blue Mist Media LLC“ – have been held in contempt by a Federal court in Nevada.  Additionally, the court determined that their violations of court orders merit terminating the case in Bullyville’s favor and requiring payment of Bullyville’s legal fees.

More on the case after the jump.

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Charles Carreon, still fighting lawyers Paul Alan Levy and Catherine Gellis over the Satirical Chas lawsuit, has filed his opposition to a motion to impose tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees.  In his opposition (PDF), Carreon has the chutzpah to argue that the real speech threatened here is his.

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Revenge kingpin Hunter Moore, a self-proclaimed “millionaire,” has been hit by two default judgments after failing to defend himself in two lawsuits against him.

The first involves Storage Wars celebrity Brandi Passante, who sued Moore for posting a video that Moore asserted was a sex tape of Passante.  Her complaint (PDF), filed in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles, asserted causes of action for trademark infringement, privacy torts, defamation, and consumer fraud, alleging that Moore’s video was false and designed to trade upon her commercial likeness.  Passante also sought and received a preliminary injunction requiring Moore to remove the video.

Moore’s response to the suit and injunction was to send Passante’s lawyer a picture of his penis (NSFW, obviously) in lieu of hiring a lawyer to defend his considerable ‘ass’ets.  This well-considered legal strategy went predictably: Passante convinced the judge to hold Moore in contempt for disobeying the injunction.  Moore, faced with the prospect of being haled into California accompanied by U.S. Marshals armed with a bench warrant, quietly removed the video from his website.

Moore has since remained quiet publicly about the suit.  While a clerk’s entry of default has been entered against him in the case, Passante’s lawyer has informed the court that settlement negotiations are ongoing.  Negotiating with a plaintiff while you’re in default is an ideal bargaining position.  Bravo, Mr. Moore.

The second case is more interesting.

Read more «Hunter Moore’s ‘Fortunes’ Threatened by Self-Imposed Legal Misfortunes»” class=”more-link”>Read more «Hunter Moore’s ‘Fortunes’ Threatened by Self-Imposed Legal Misfortunes»