Revenge Porn – NEWS HANGOVER

Revenge porn, also known as non-consensual pornography or
image-based sexual abuse, involves sharing intimate images or
videos of someone without their permission. Whether the content was originally
shared consensually or obtained through hacking, distributing it without consent
is a serious invasion of privacy and a criminal offense in many countries.

Legal Consequences

Many jurisdictions have introduced laws that treat non-consensual image sharing
as a criminal offense. In the United States, nearly every state has specific
revenge porn legislation, while Canada’s Criminal Code makes the offense
punishable by up to five years in prison. Victims may also pursue civil lawsuits
for emotional distress, privacy violations, or copyright infringement. If
someone threatens to release intimate images to demand money, more photos, or
sexual favors, the crime becomes sextortion, which carries
even harsher penalties.

Platform Response

Major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and Reddit,
provide reporting tools to remove non-consensual intimate content. Many also
use digital fingerprinting (hashing) technology to prevent removed images from
being uploaded again. Search engines such as Google and Bing allow victims to
request the removal of links to these images from search results.

What Victims Should Do

• Save evidence by taking screenshots that include usernames, dates, URLs, and messages.
• Do not pay anyone demanding money or other favors to prevent publication.
• Report the incident to local law enforcement and the relevant online platforms.
• Use StopNCII.org, a free service that helps participating platforms detect and block intimate images without requiring them to be uploaded.