Latest news with #revengeporn
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Real Housewives Of Atlanta drama over 'revenge porn' incident sends reunion into chaos
The drama over last year's 'revenge porn' incident has sent the season 16 reunion into chaos. The latest season started airing on Bravo a few months earlier in March - and had featured the moment when Kenya Moore reportedly showed explicit posters of castmate Brit Eady allegedly performing oral sex amidst filming in June 2024. Moore was then suspended 'indefinitely' from the series. However, she had stated that she was 'not going anywhere' and also called out the network for being a 'toxic environment.' The season 16 reunion was filmed on Thursday - with both Moore and Eady notably not making an appearance. Kenya jumped to X to issue a statement to her followers and expressed she was 'disappointed' to not take part in the reunion while also issuing an apology. 'I'm disappointed to not be a part of the #RHOA 16 reunion taping today,' the TV personality began. 'Please know I take full accountability for my actions and deeply apologize to all those affected including Brittney, the cast, crew, guests and viewers.' The reality star then seemingly teased a possible return to the show by adding, 'I look forward to seeing you all back on Bravo soon.' Eady - who was also absent from the reunion taping - issued a statement of her own on her Instagram stories on Thursday. Brit confirmed that she was not making an appearance in the reunion - but also claimed that she was actually not in the explicit posters that Moore had shown. 'As everyone is now aware, I'm not attending the Reunion. This was my decision. The events of this season have devastated me.' She continued, 'And while I cannot say much right now, I do want to set the record straight about one thing: the graphic sexual photo surrounding the events in Episode 5. That photo was not me. Eady explained that she initially did not see the picture and was simply 'made aware' of the image being showcased at Moore's hair salon event. Brit wrote that 'based on what I was told, assumed that it was somehow a photo of me - which is why I reacted in the way that I did. Brit confirmed that she was not making an appearance in the reunion - but also claimed that she was actually not in the explicit posters that Moore had shown 'I do not know who was in that photo, but upon seeing it for the first time recently, I now know it was not me. I look forward to seeking accountability and moving past this dark part of my life. - Brit.' Sources informed TMZ that Bravo had wanted to film a one-on-one interview with Moore and Andy Cohen - which ended up not taking place. A separate insider told People that Eady chose to not attend the reunion taping while Moore was 'not invited.' Back in April, an episode titled About Last Night during the 16th season featured the moment when Moore had presented explicit photos which allegedly showed Eady performing oral sex. A message from the production appeared during the episode which read: 'Based on Kenya's behavior, the decision was made to cease filming with her this season.' The RHOA fan account @atlanta_housewives posted the message to Instagram and fans rallied behind Moore, with some calling her exit from the season 'unfair.' Eady had been feuding with Kenya since joining the reality series. In the episode leading up to the scene in question, Brittany seemingly threatened Moore not long after a group dinner. 'I don't play them games, I got whips, pistols, everything,' she had said at the time. In response while leaving the dinner, Kenya expressed: 'She talking about guns, she was talking about, "I still got my pistol on me." This girl is a problem. She gotta go, she gotta go for real, for real. Please let her do something to me, so she can go!' And during the specific episode of the incident, Moore celebrated the grand opening of her hair spa and some other cast members stopped by to help celebrate the big milestone. Eady also showed up with flowers as an apology for starting up a feud earlier in the season. However, Kenya notably did not accept the peace offering and said that Brittany was only using the situation for a 'moment' and insinuated the apology was not genuine. Moore then showed an explicit poster board at the event that allegedly showed Eady performing oral sex. The cast was left shocked over the move and Porsha Williams stepped out of the shop and stated, 'I want to just take my mic off. You can just act like I was never at this event.' The episode officially concluded with the message from the production that a decision had been that Moore would not film the rest of the season. The incident was first revealed last year in June when Kenya was suspended 'indefinitely' from RHOA following claims that she shared adult images of Eady - which she denied doing at the time. She took to her Instagram stories and wrote, 'Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see. The truth always comes to light.' And in a separate post, Moore penned on X: 'I would never engage in revenge porn, I have never distributed private images, nor solicited images owned by others to use or threaten or blackmail. 'I have always been vindicated. I can't talk about STORY even with people planting fake news.' Eady also shared a statement on Instagram that read, 'It's never a good feeling being targeted or HAZED by someone I thought would embrace me into a new circle, that I never met. 'For the record, I've never once had possession of any weapons or threatened anyone ever. I am hurt by the narrative that's being displayed. Wrong is wrong.' After her suspension was confirmed, Moore called out Bravo for being a 'toxic environment.' And in a separate post, Moore penned on X: 'I would never engage in revenge porn, I have never distributed private images, nor solicited images owned by others to use or threaten or blackmail' She further shut down the claims on Instagram and revealed she has 'proof' for her defense. RHOA star Kelli Ferrell offered her thoughts about Moore's firing during an exclusive interview with last month in May. '[It was] surprising for everybody. I mean, who would've thought that that would be our final time in filming. 'I just felt like it was so many other things that we had left to discuss and talk about and connect on,' Ferrell added. 'I mean it's unfortunate. I think [for] all parties, it's just unfortunate.' Kelli also revealed she still will message Moore 'from time to time' and added, 'I love Kenya. I think Kenya is so amazing. I think she's such a boss. Me and Kenya had so many amazing things in common and I really wish her well. I really do.' The reality star also expressed that she 'hopes' Kenya can return to the Real Housewives franchise. 'I mean, Kenny and I had so many amazing moments together and I hope that we could film together again soon.' Also in April, Moore took to her YouTube channel to address the 'revenge porn' incident and issued an apology. 'It was wrong. I should not have done it at my salon I worked so hard for. I am very sorry that I shared the photos because it wasn't right. I did not break the law, and I'm very sorry for what I did...'
The Sun
02-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
My ex refused to let me end things – when I finally moved on his twisted messages threatened to tear my life apart
HANDS shaking Laura Gumery struggled to comprehend what was on her boyfriend Tom Martin's phone. There they were, the photos she hoped never to see again, the photos her ex had promised to delete but now the intimate images were being used against her. 6 After learning about her new relationship with Tom, her former boyfriend Ian Davis had texted the naked images, alongside sexual messages the pair had once shared, to her new partner in a jealous rage. Davis, 37, tried to claim that Laura, 33, had cheated with him in an attempt to sabotage the new relationship. Thankfully Tom, 38, didn't believe his lies and the pair reported Davis to the police. Now the mum-of-two is sharing her story to raise awareness of revenge porn in a bid to encourage other victims to report their abusers to the police. She says: 'Reporting Ian was the best thing I ever did. 'Taking back control of my life felt amazing. 'Now I want others to not feel ashamed to come forward and seek justice.' Laura, from South Wales, met Davis in 2015, when she was 15 and he was 20. Initially he seemed like the perfect boyfriend, showering her with compliments and buying her gifts and almost instantly declaring his love for her. However, he gradually became more obsessed with the then schoolgirl. Shamed Towie star James Argent threatened with jail if he fails to listen to abuse victims on course after attack on ex She remembers: 'He'd want to talk to me all the time and if I didn't reply straight away he'd bombard me with messages. 'He picked me up from school and I barely saw my friends and family. 'It was suffocating.' By the time she turned 18, Laura ended the relationship. Despite this, Davis begged her to reconsider, even pestering her friends to get Laura to talk to him. But she blocked his number and eventually he left her alone. Five years on in 2015, aged 23, Laura fell pregnant but the father didn't want to be involved. Soon after, Davis got in touch, out of the blue. She remembers: 'He apologised for his behaviour during the relationship. 'Saying he wasn't that person anymore and missed me. 'He wanted another chance. 'Feeling vulnerable at that time, I agreed to try again, he genuinely seemed to have changed. 'I agreed to date again once the baby was born.' At first, things were bliss for the couple as Davis became a loving father-figure to Laura's newborn son. But within seven months, the relationship began to unravel. Often, Davis would go away at the weekends for car rallies and Laura was left to do everything and the couple found themselves arguing constantly. Despite this, in December 2017 the pair got engaged and planned to marry. Only, two years on, in May 2019, Laura was told by a friend that Davis had allegedly cheated while on a trip away. Laura explains: 'I confronted him but he denied it. 'By this point I'd had enough, so I cancelled our wedding and moved out with my son. 'I couldn't trust him. 'I still allowed him to see my son as they had such a close relationship.' When lockdown hit in March 2020, Laura continued to stay in touch with Davis as he still had a hold over her. She remembers: 'He'd turn up at my house unannounced and would text me, asking who I was seeing. 'He would be so jealous if he ever saw a car parked outside mine and was convinced I was still his. 'Sometimes it was easier to go along with it. I got less grief that way. 'Occasionally, I slept with him to keep him off my back so I could have a social life without him. 'I did it to keep him 'happy' so he would let me have a life and stop monitoring me all the time.' During this time, Laura sent Davis two nude pictures of herself taken in her bedroom and they shared a flurry of sexual messages together. With Davis texting her naked pictures of himself too, but Laura deleted them straight away. She explains: 'I wanted to make him believe I was still 'his'. 'Looking back, it was so unhealthy and toxic but I couldn't see a way to break free from his control.' Months later, in April 2021, Laura met her boyfriend, Tom, on a blind date. They hit it off and the following month, he stayed over at Laura's. Only, the next morning, Davis sent her a cryptic message. She says: 'He told me he'd always 'loved me' and that I 'couldn't survive' without him. 'I decided to cut ties with him for good." A year on, in July 2022, Laura received a message on Instagram from Davis. It said: 'Blocking me was the wrong thing to do I've got somethings (sic) your boyfriend should see its (sic) your call now.' After telling her he had nothing to lose, he ordered her to unblock him. Laura says: 'I had no idea what he was talking about and threatened to contact the police if he messaged me or Tom. 'Then I blocked him on Instagram too.' In September that year, Laura discovered she was pregnant. A week later, the day after she celebrated her 31st birthday, Tom called in distress. Laura remembers: 'He told me that Ian had been in touch. 'That he'd sent him two naked pictures of me as well as the sexual conversations we'd had together. 'I immediately felt sick. 'Panic hit me. I thought, 'That's it, Tom's going to leave me.'' With that, Laura rushed home. There, Tom showed her Davis' messages. In one, he'd called her a 'w***e'. She says: 'I was so mortified and ashamed he'd seen the pictures of me. 'Ian had tried to make out I'd cheated on Tom with him. 'I explained that the pictures were sent before we were together and that I hadn't done anything wrong. 'Tom was so calm and supportive, but I knew he was upset. 'Thankfully he believed me. 'I hated Ian for what he'd done and I was terrified he'd posted them elsewhere too. 'He'd completely taken away the joy of our pregnancy news.' WHAT IS REVENGE PORN? Victims have been targeted by revenge porn from their exes, and occasionally third parties, who seek to destroy their reputation or post it as a form of harassment. The posting of revenge porn includes photos and videos of the victim that are posted online without the individual's consent, with one in 25 Americans affected, according to a 2016 article by The Washington Post. Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 are primarily victims of revenge porn, and a study conducted in 2016 found that approximately 10million people, or two percent of the population, had reported they were victims. Revenge porn is not protected under the First Amendment of free speech which does not protect the distribution of private facts, defamation, and child pornography. Under section 230 Communications Decency Act of 1996, websites are considered third parties and not legally liable for content posted online. However, in 2020, then-Attorney General William Barr wrote a letter to Congress requesting websites to be required to take action and hold the third parties accountable for not removing nonconsensual content. In his letter, Barr wrote that technological changes since 1996 have advanced, and the law should be amended to reflect this. He stated that section 230 "shields 'any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers being obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.'" Barr provided reforms to section 230, changing "'otherwise objectionable' with more specific language including 'promoting terrorism or violent extremism, promoting self-harm' and 'unlawful.'" The bill to amend section 230 was brought to the Senate in October 2021 and as of May 2022, it is still being reviewed. Afterwards, Tom told Laura how it was a crime to distribute naked images and explained all about the law on revenge porn. So, the couple reported Davis to the police. Laura says: 'At first I thought Ian hadn't done anything wrong as I didn't think it was illegal to share intimate images with someone you knew. 'But Tom told me it was an offence and reminded me of the Georgia Harrison case.' Georgia's disgraced ex Stephen Bear is currently serving a 21 month prison sentence for voyeurism and sharing a sex tape. Stephen filmed consensual sex with Georgia on CCTV in 2020 then made at least £40,000 on OnlyFans from uploading the clip. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and was slapped with a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting Georgia. TV personality Georgia was among those to call for a change to the legislation. It will now be easier to prosecute people for sharing revenge porn after a change in the law in England and Wales. Revenge porn was criminalised in 2015 but before now prosecutors had to prove there was an intention to cause humiliation or distress, but laws introduced on Tuesday will remove this clause. The day that Laura filed the report an officer came to take Laura's statement. Laura says: 'While the officer asked to see the pictures, he was professional and offered no judgement. 'I was mortified but determined to see Ian punished.' Soon after, Davis was arrested and charged. It took three years to get to court. This month, at Newport Crown Court, Davis was found guilty of sharing an intimate photograph without consent and sharing an intimate photograph without consent while intending to cause harm, distress or humiliation. He was handed a seven month sentence, suspended by one year and a five-year restraining order. Laura says: 'Sharing intimate pictures with others causes lasting damage. 'It harms self-esteem and can ruin family relationships. 'Thankfully Tom has been my rock and supported me throughout. 'Now I teach my boys that when you're going through tough times, don't back away, because, in the end, the person telling the truth always wins.'
TechCrunch
24-05-2025
- Politics
- TechCrunch
Why a new anti-revenge porn law has free speech experts alarmed
Privacy and digital rights advocates are raising alarms over a law that many would expect them to cheer: a federal crackdown on revenge porn and AI-generated deepfakes. The newly signed Take It Down Act makes it illegal to publish nonconsensual explicit images — real or AI-generated — and gives platforms just 48 hours to comply with a victim's takedown request or face liability. While widely praised as a long-overdue win for victims, experts have also warned its vague language, lax standards for verifying claims, and tight compliance window could pave the way for overreach, censorship of legitimate content, and even surveillance. 'Content moderation at scale is widely problematic and always ends up with important and necessary speech being censored,' India McKinney, director of federal affairs at Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights organization, told TechCrunch. Online platforms have one year to establish a process for removing nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII). While the law requires takedown requests come from victims or their representatives, it only asks for a physical or electronic signature — no photo ID or other form of verification is needed. That likely aims to reduce barriers for victims, but it could create an opportunity for abuse. 'I really want to be wrong about this, but I think there are going to be more requests to take down images depicting queer and trans people in relationships, and even more than that, I think it's gonna be consensual porn,' McKinney said. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a co-sponsor of the Take It Down Act, also sponsored the Kids Online Safety Act which puts the onus on platforms to protect children from harmful content online. Blackburn has said she believes content related to transgender people is harmful to kids. Similarly, the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think tank behind Project 2025 — has also said that 'keeping trans content away from children is protecting kids.' Because of the liability that platforms face if they don't take down an image within 48 hours of receiving a request, 'the default is going to be that they just take it down without doing any investigation to see if this actually is NCII or if it's another type of protected speech, or if it's even relevant to the person who's making the request,' said McKinney. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Snapchat and Meta have both said they are supportive of the law, but neither responded to TechCrunch's requests for more information about how they'll verify whether the person requesting a takedown is a victim. Mastodon, a decentralized platform that hosts its own flagship server that others can join, told TechCrunch it would lean towards removal if it was too difficult to verify the victim. Mastodon and other decentralized platforms like Bluesky or Pixelfed may be especially vulnerable to the chilling effect of the 48-hour takedown rule. These networks rely on independently operated servers, often run by nonprofits or individuals. Under the law, the FTC can treat any platform that doesn't 'reasonably comply' with takedown demands as committing an 'unfair or deceptive act or practice' – even if the host isn't a commercial entity. 'This is troubling on its face, but it is particularly so at a moment when the chair of the FTC has taken unprecedented steps to politicize the agency and has explicitly promised to use the power of the agency to punish platforms and services on an ideological, as opposed to principled, basis,' the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to ending revenge porn, said in a statement. Proactive monitoring McKinney predicts that platforms will start moderating content before it's disseminated so they have fewer problematic posts to take down in the future. Platforms are already using AI to monitor for harmful content. Kevin Guo, CEO and co-founder of AI-generated content detection startup Hive, said his company works with online platforms to detect deepfakes and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Some of Hive's customers include Reddit, Giphy, Vevo, Bluesky, and BeReal. 'We were actually one of the tech companies that endorsed that bill,' Guo told TechCrunch. 'It'll help solve some pretty important problems and compel these platforms to adopt solutions more proactively.' Hive's model is a software-as-a-service, so the startup doesn't control how platforms use its product to flag or remove content. But Guo said many clients insert Hive's API at the point of upload to monitor before anything is sent out to the community. A Reddit spokesperson told TechCrunch the platform uses 'sophisticated internal tools, processes, and teams to address and remove' NCII. Reddit also partners with nonprofit SWGfl to deploy its StopNCII tool, which scans live traffic for matches against a database of known NCII and removes accurate matches. The company did not share how it would ensure the person requesting the takedown is the victim. McKinney warns this kind of monitoring could extend into encrypted messages in the future. While the law focuses on public or semi-public dissemination, it also requires platforms to 'remove and make reasonable efforts to prevent the reupload' of nonconsensual intimate images. She argues this could incentivize proactive scanning of all content, even in encrypted spaces. The law doesn't include any carve outs for end-to-end encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal, or iMessage. Meta, Signal, and Apple have not responded to TechCrunch's request for more information on their plans for encrypted messaging. Broader free speech implications On March 4, Trump delivered a joint address to Congress in which he praised the Take It Down Act and said he looked forward to signing it into law. 'And I'm going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don't mind,' he added. 'There's nobody who gets treated worse than I do online.' While the audience laughed at the comment, not everyone took it as a joke. Trump hasn't been shy about suppressing or retaliating against unfavorable speech, whether that's labeling mainstream media outlets 'enemies of the people,' barring The Associated Press from the Oval Office despite a court order, or pulling funding from NPR and PBS. On Thursday, the Trump administration barred Harvard University from accepting foreign student admissions, escalating a conflict that began after Harvard refused to adhere to Trump's demands that it make changes to its curriculum and eliminate DEI-related content, among other things. In retaliation, Trump has frozen federal funding to Harvard and threatened to revoke the university's tax-exempt status. 'At a time when we're already seeing school boards try to ban books and we're seeing certain politicians be very explicitly about the types of content they don't want people to ever see, whether it's critical race theory or abortion information or information about climate change…it is deeply uncomfortable for us with our past work on content moderation to see members of both parties openly advocating for content moderation at this scale,' McKinney said.
News24
20-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Trump signs ‘Take it Down' revenge porn bill into law
The 'Take It Down Act' was signed into US federal law. The law makes it a crime to post 'revenge porn'. Websites will be obliged to remove the content within 48 hours. US President Donald Trump signed a bill on Monday making it a federal crime to post 'revenge porn' - whether it is real or generated by artificial intelligence. The 'Take It Down Act', passed with overwhelming bipartisan congressional support, criminalises non-consensual publication of intimate images, while also mandating their removal from online platforms. 'With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will,' Trump said at a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House. 'And today we're making it totally illegal,' the president said. 'Anyone who intentionally distributes explicit images without the subject's consent will face up to three years in prison.' Websites that fail to remove the images promptly, within 48 hours, will face civil liabilities, Trump said. First Lady Melania Trump endorsed the bill in early March and attended the signing ceremony in a rare public White House appearance. The First Lady has largely been an elusive figure at the White House since her husband took the oath of office on 20 January, spending only limited time in Washington. In remarks at the signing ceremony, she described the bill as a 'national victory that will help parents and families protect children from online exploitation'. This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused. Melania Trump Deepfakes often rely on artificial intelligence and other tools to create realistic-looking fake videos. They can be used to create falsified pornographic images of real women, which are then published without their consent and proliferate. Some US states, including California and Florida, have laws criminalising the publication of sexually explicit deepfakes, but critics have voiced concerns the 'Take It Down Act' grants the authorities increased censorship power. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focused on free expression, has said the bill gives 'the powerful a dangerous new route to manipulate platforms into removing lawful speech that they simply don't like'. The bill would require social media platforms and websites to have procedures in place to swiftly remove non-consensual intimate imagery upon notification from a victim. An online boom in non-consensual deepfakes is currently outpacing efforts to regulate the technology around the world due to a proliferation of AI tools, including photo apps digitally undressing women. While high-profile politicians and celebrities, including singer Taylor Swift and Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have been victims of deepfake porn, experts say women not in the public eye are equally vulnerable. A wave of AI porn scandals has been reported at schools across US states with hundreds of teenagers targeted by their own classmates. Such non-consensual imagery can lead to harassment, bullying or blackmail, sometimes causing devastating mental health consequences, experts warn. Renee Cummings, an AI and data ethicist and criminologist at the University of Virginia, said the bill is a 'significant step' in addressing the exploitation of AI-generated deepfakes and non-consensual imagery. 'Its effectiveness will depend on swift and sure enforcement, severe punishment for perpetrators and real-time adaptability to emerging digital threats,' Cummings told AFP. At least one mother hailed the new legislation as a step in the right direction. 'It's a very important first step,' Dorota Mani told AFP on Monday, calling it a 'very powerful bill'. As the mother of a young victim, Mani said she felt empowered because 'now I have a legal weapon in my hand, which nobody can say no to'.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New federal law targets deepfake porn, non-consensual image sharing
HOUSTON - A new bipartisan law signed by President Donald Trump aims to crack down on the growing threat of deepfake images and revenge porn, offering new protections to victims of non-consensual image sharing (NCCIs). The "Take It Down Act," co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, criminalizes the distribution of intimate images without a person's consent — including AI-generated or digitally altered content. "The Take It Down Act is an historic win for victims of revenge porn and deepfake image abuse," Senator Cruz wrote in a Monday post on X. "Predators who weaponize new technology to post this exploitative filth will now rightfully face criminal consequences, and Big Tech will no longer be allowed to turn a blind eye to the spread of this vile material." Sharing sexually explicit images without consent is now a federal crime. Deepfake and AI-generated explicit imagery are included in the legislation's scope. Online platforms are required to remove flagged content within 48 hours. Violators face up to three years in prison, hefty fines, and may also be subject to civil lawsuits from victims seeking damages. The legislation passed both chambers of Congress with broad bipartisan support amid rising concerns over the misuse of artificial intelligence to create realistic but fake explicit content. Advocates say it fills critical gaps left by many state-level laws, which often don't cover manipulated or synthetic media. Tech experts, however, warn the new rules could present significant enforcement challenges. "It seems like a good idea on the surface, but it could be a nightmare to implement," said Juan Guevera-Torres, a Houston-based tech expert. "There are real questions about who decides what qualifies as a deepfake and whether this could lead to unintended censorship." Still, supporters say the law is overdue. The law has particular relevance in states like Texas, where cases of minors being targeted with explicit content have drawn national attention in recent years. Online platforms found in violation of the 48-hour removal requirement could also face legal consequences, intensifying pressure on social media companies and content hosts to respond swiftly to reports of alleged abuse. The Source Fox 26 gathered information from recent press conferences including Senator Ted Cruz, President Trump and tech expert Juan Guevera-Torres.
