Latest news with #onlineAbuse
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
US tennis star Jessica Pegula reveals disturbing fan abuse and death threats after shock French Open exit
Jessica Pegula has revealed that her shock French Open exit was met with disturbing online abuse from bettors - and she called out those 'insane people' on Wednesday. World No. 3 Pegula was eliminated at Roland-Garros in the fourth round, as wild card Lois Boisson beat her 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. And last year's US Open finalist received some horrific comments afterwards, as she posted a thread on her Instagram story detailing what she'd been subjected to. In her Instagram comments - under a post of Pegula mourning the loss of her dog, no less - one fan said that 'Karma' would come for her, and hoped that her first-born child would be a stillbirth. Under the same post, another person said that 'Tucker [her dog] is better off without this loser,' while another comment on the website said: 'Somewhere in the world, there is a tree that's working really hard to produce the Oxygen you waste.' Another commenter posted a picture of a playing card with the words 'You Die' on it. Another accused her of losing on purpose and hoped she delivered a still-born child Pegula, the son of billionaire and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, was also called 'useless' by another fan. 'Just quit playing tennis and enjoy your father's money! You are literally the most useless top 10 player ever,' they said. After sharing screenshots of the various instances of abuse, Pegula called the bettors 'insane and delusional.' '... And I don't allow dms and try to remember when to shut my comments off during tournament weeks but they always find a way to my timeline. This stuff has never really bothered me much but does any other sport deal with this to our level? I'd love to know because it seems to be predominately tennis?? It's so disturbing. 'Every person on tour deals with it,' she continued. 'It's so bad. Those are just really small snippets. I get told my family should get cancer and die from people on here on a regular basis. Absolutely crazy.' Pegula fell to Lois Boisson after taking the first set of the match at Roland-Garros She continued: 'I've seen stories of comments/threats/stalking making headlines in other sports... well news flash I can guarantee it's 100 times worse. These comments are nonstop for us. Win or lose - it's whatever they bet on.' After revealing that she had also been notified by the NHL of threats against her (her father owns the Buffalo Sabres as well), she said that such abuse wasn't okay - even if it has 'never really gotten to me.' 'When fans get on us as athletes to be tougher and stronger etc etc. just realize you prob don't have people sending you death threats every day and hoping your family dies and you give birth to a still born child,' she said. Pegula added that it wasn't realistic for tennis players to stay off of social media as they need to be on there to post sponsorships.
Fast Company
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Fast Company
Trump signs a bipartisan bill targeting revenge porn and AI-generated sexual images
President Donald Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act into law on Monday, strengthening federal protections for victims of revenge porn and AI-generated sexual images. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, makes it illegal to 'knowingly publish' or threaten to share nonconsensual intimate imagery—whether real or generated by artificial intelligence—without the person's consent. It also requires tech platforms to remove such images within 48 hours of being notified and to take steps to eliminate duplicate content. Previously, federal law only banned the creation or distribution of realistic, AI-generated explicit images of children, while protections for adults varied by state. As a result, laws differed in how the crime was classified and penalized, leading to inconsistent criminal prosecutions. Some victims also struggled to have images taken down from websites. This legislation, which garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, marks the first federal law aimed at protecting adult victims. Now, people who post such content and are convicted could face penalties and prison time. The Federal Trade Commission could also sue tech companies for not complying with the law, Axios reports. 'We must provide victims of online abuse with the legal protections they need when intimate images are shared without their consent, especially now that deepfakes are creating horrifying new opportunities for abuse,' Klobuchar said in a statement after the bill passed in Congress. 'These images can ruin lives and reputations, but now that our bipartisan legislation is becoming law, victims will be able to have this material removed from social media platforms and law enforcement can hold perpetrators accountable.' Tech giants have expressed broad support for the bill. Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, joined Snap, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, X, Amazon, Bumble, and Match Group in backing the legislation. 'Having an intimate image—real or AI-generated—shared without consent can be devastating and Meta developed and backs many efforts to help prevent it,' Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement in March. First Lady Melania Trump has also championed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, lobbying lawmakers and speaking with teenage victims. She appeared alongside Trump at the bill's signing. 'It's heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content like deepfakes,' the First Lady said in March. 'Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves free without the looming threat of exploitation or harm.'
