If you’ve been following the ongoing saga of revenge porn site IsAnybodyDown.com, you might recall that I’ve alleged that the site’s operator, Craig Brittain of Colorado Springs, was likely getting photos for his site by responding to Craigslist personals ads. I theorized this on the basis that most of the posts on IsAnybodyDown are tagged ‘craigslist’ and from screenshots posted by Brittain.
And now there’s proof.
In Januay, a number of Texas women filed a class action lawsuit (press release and amended complaint here) against revenge porn site Texxan.com (also known as Texxxans.com). The lawsuit spiked media interest in the “revenge porn” underworld, and the operator of Texxxan made several appearances to defend his venture, always careful to shield his identity with anonymous proxies, voice modulators, and adopting the pseudonym “James Smith.”
The site, after repeatedly ‘polling’ its visitors as to whether it should stay online and receiving ‘positive’ results, abruptly shut down on January 28. Visitors were greeted with a default “pageok” message from the Godaddy-hosted site with no explanation as to why a site supposedly so popular with its visitors would simply disappear. ”James Smith” chalked up the closure as the result of the “lease” on the site expiring.
The site’s closure, however, had little to do with a “lease” expiring and more to do with GoDaddy shutting the site down for violating its Terms of Service becuse the site was registered under a false name. Perhaps it also had to do with investigators closing in on the man apparently behind the site.
And his mother.
Twitter is abuzz that whoever’s behind Manti Te’o's fake dead girlfriend, “Lennay Kay”, is to make a statement from the @LennayKay account in the next few hours. My research suggests that this account is, itself, a fake.
The Colorado Springs Independent has a feature story out today about Craig Brittain and his controversial site. If you haven’t been following along, here’s a synopsis of the IsAnybodyDown.com controversy.
The article is worth a read, both because it lays out some of the controversy and because it gives Craig Brittain ample room to shed light on his side of the story. Presented with this generous opportunity, Craig dissembles. Craig is already claiming to have been significantly misquoted.
Months after this controversy began, these are the two big questions Craig has failed or refused to directly answer, and some discrepancies raised by Craig:
Are your nude photos posted on IsAnybodyDown.com or YouGotPosted.com? If so, I’d like to talk with you. I’ve written critically about both sites here and I am interested in finding out additional information about the sites, including more about how they get their pictures, how they respond to takedown requests, and the experience you’ve had as a result of being posted.
Anonymity guaranteed. I won’t reveal any identifying information without your permission or a lawful order (e.g., a subpoena).
Please note that I am not a lawyer and can’t help get your pictures removed. Another site has posted some tips on how to get pictures removed, but I can’t vouch for whether following its advice would be successful or legally prudent. I highly recommend that you contact an attorney.
You can email me (adam.steinbaugh@gmail.com) or find additional contact information on my “About” page.
When 2012 drew to a close, it appeared that the First Amendment case between Charles Carreon and his satirist had more or less drawn to a close, save for a dispute over whether Carreon would have to pony up a few thousand dollars for evading service of the lawsuit. Techdirt has a good overview here.
Not so. On New Year’s Eve, Satirical Chas’ lawyers (Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen and Cathy Gellis) filed a motion seeking over $40,000 in legal fees from Charles Carreon (PDF). The filing also suggests that Register.com (the domain name registrar providing the satirist with ‘private’ registration) may yet be sued for capitulating to Carreon’s censorious threats and revealing the satirist’s identity.
The City of Collinsville, Illinois really doesn’t want people to see a video of one of its police officers admitting to some questionable training practices. So much so that it tried (and failed) to convince a judge to issue a protective order requiring that the video be stricken from the internet.
YouGotPosted.com is an involuntary porn site similar to IsAnybodyDown.com in more than its content: it’s taking a page from Craig Brittain’s playbook: they destroy your reputation by posting your nude photos, name, and hometown so that it’s easily found whenever someone Googles your name. And they’ll keep destroying your reputation — but here’s an advertisement for a company that will negotiate with them to get your photos taken down. For a fee.
Except that the ‘reputation’ or ‘takedown’ company isn’t exactly independent. It’s likely coordinated by the people posting those nude photos.
A brief update on the ongoing Satirical Chas and Charles Carreon case, wherein a satirical blogger sought declaratory relief that his use of charles-carreon.com was protected by the First Amendment against trademark infringement claims by Charles Carreon.
Satirical Chas has accepted an offer of judgment by Charles Carreon which appears to accomplish what the lawsuit intended: to protect the blogger from being subject to continued legal threats by Charles Carreon over his use of the domain name. The terms are below. There is no indication whether Satirical Chas’ attorneys, Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen and Cathy Gellis, will continue to seek costs for Charles Carreon’s evasion of service in the case, assuming this settlement doesn’t foreclose on that possibility.
A few brief updates about involuntary porn site IsAnybodyDown.com and its “Takedown Hammer” scheme. If you’re just joining us, a synopsis of the IsAnybodyDown.com controversy is here.
[Update: Chance Trahan responds at length [PDF]. He denies running the site and says that talking about him is cybersquatting, among other things. More below.]
[Update 1/7/2013: Chance deleted the above post (though here's a copy [PDF]) and replaced it with a new response. It’s a copy/paste of this post edited to tell his side of the story. Chance Trahan says that the “David Blade” / “Takedown Hammer” site is, alternatively, a “parody” or a “third party hiree.” Chance says he only designed the site, its logos, and created its Facebook account — the idea and content are Craig’s. Chance also maintains his claim that speaking negatively about or to him (without his permission) is “harassment” and “cybersquatting,” and that those criticizing him were hired to do so. Chance also commented on this post, below]