Last year, a court in Washington state awarded $8.9 million to a woman whose former online romantic partner allegedly began harassing her after their relationship ended.

Courtney Allen and her husband sued Arizona resident Todd Zonis after Allen broke off the online dalliance. The Allens accused Zonis of posting intimate photos and videos, sending them to friends and family and initiating a campaign of harassment. After a jury sided with the Allens and awarded the record-setting verdict, Zonis denied the charges and appealed.

The jury award was the largest to date involving what’s been called “revenge porn” or nonconsensual pornography, the act of sending photos, videos and intimate information out over the internet after a relationship ends, during a dispute or for other reasons. Increasing numbers of Americans are reporting that former romantic partners (and in some cases, current ones) have used these tactics to shame them and destroy their reputations. In some cases, people have taken intimate photos and videos without their partner’s knowledge and shared them online or used the threat to do so as leverage against them.

Several high-profile celebrity cases have helped bring attention to the problem, but it’s becoming more widespread. Nonconsensual pornography is not a new phenomenon, but social media and other digital technologies have given perpetrators the means to distribute embarrassing material with the world. At a time when we live out much of our lives online, that gives unprecedented power to those who would use it. A 2016 report from the Data and Society Research Institute claimed that one in 25 Americans had been victimized in some way through nonconsensual pornography, and those in their teens and 20s are more likely to be targeted.

Mississippi is one of a few states that doesn’t have a law specifically against nonconsensual pornography, but other statutes could be used to prosecute perpetrators. Efforts to introduce such laws in the Legislature have so far failed.

Nonconsensual pornography has even spawned its own cottage industry, with a number of websites promising to facilitate the sharing of intimate content. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced that a federal court had ordered the shutdown of a website called MyEx.com, after finding the site’s operators violated federal and state laws. The FTC also levied a $2 million fine against the company, which allegedly charged victims between $499 and $2,800 to remove their images from the site.

MyEx.com, which shut down shortly after the complaint was filed, encouraged users to “Add Your Ex” and to “Submit Pics and Stories of Your Ex.” The court added that “MyEx.com was dedicated solely to revenge porn and solicited intimate pictures and videos of victims, along with their personal information such as their name, address, employer, and social media account information.”

“We are gratified that the court ordered this site shut down for good,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The defendants in this case harmed individuals by publishing their intimate images, and then victimized them again by trying to extort money to take the information down.”

It’s difficult to prevent revenge porn, since perpetrators may use pictures or video taken without your knowledge. But other than avoiding taking or sending explicit images in the first place, there are some ways to fight. Mashable’s Rebecca Ruiz lists some ways to respond. Among her advice:

• Immediately report the posting to the social media site that was used. Most social media sites have ways to flag offensive or unauthorized content.
• Take screenshots of the images and save or print them. This may be useful should they later be removed.
• File a police report.
• Consider hiring a “takedown service” to remove the images, such as DMCA Defender or Copybyte.

Contact Bill Moak at moakconsumer@gmail.com

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