Personal pictures and explicit chat posted online without permission

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PatrickZ

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I really hope I can gain some direction and insight for a problem that I thought was going to go away, but hasn't. Hopefully I am posting this in the right place and that this forum can help me. I am an upstanding married man with a family and six months ago I engaged in an explicit chat with a woman and shared a face picture along with a picture of my genitals (no face) through the chat. I was chatting for the thrill and excitement of it and the chat was a combination of fantasy and fact. Completely stupid on my part and I have regretted ever since. The pictures were taken by me in the privacy of my personal office, not in a public place. At no time during this chat did I give permission or consent in any shape or form for my personal pictures to be copied or to be placed into the public domain (i.e. a website accessible to the public at large). If I understand copyright laws correctly, because I was the one that took the photos and therefore the original creator of the photos I believe that I hold copyright over them. I have never explicitly opted out of the copyright of these photos and thus I believe they should not be available in the public domain.

Approximately 7 weeks after this chat I was made aware that the chat and the photos had been copied and posted to the public domain on a website along with other people who had had similar chats/sharing of photos with this person. Upon learning of this, I made repeated efforts and attempts to contact the website to have my pictures removed. As part of these attempts I made it clear that I believed that my Privacy was being invaded under the tort of False Light. However, I was unsuccessful in having my pictures removed as the website ignored all contact attempts. Having exhausted this avenue I attempted to work with the hosting company to have my pictures removed based on their stated terms of use agreement with the websites they are hosting. A number of emails were traded, but my pictures were not removed. As part of these emails they kept referring me to their copyright division. Not being educated on copyright at the time and wanting to maintain my anonymity and privacy for the sake of my family I felt that I had run out of options.

Because of the nature of the website (explicit/pornographic) and because the site was generating minimal traffic and search hits I was somewhat secure that I would not be found on this website by people that know me and that the site would eventually die out. Again, not smart thinking on my part as the site has recently been trying to generate more traffic. This led me to revisit what my options were for having my pictures removed from the site, including copyright. Based on what I have been reading and researching, I think I might be able to have my pictures removed due to copyright, but I am not sure. This leads me to a number of questions, which I hope this wonderful forum and the professionals on it can help me to answer to give me direction to have my pictures removed from this website and give me my life back.

1) Could I actually pursue this website under Invasion of Privacy under the tort of False Light? Since the nature of the site and the fact that the site knowingly admits to the fact that the information posted could be rumors or false wouldn't this place me in a false light?

2) Do I hold copyright over my pictures even though I have not registered for copyright for these pictures? If I do have to register for copyright, I will almost certainly do so. Whether I have to register or not, I want to stay as anonymous as possible as I fear that the people running this website will retaliate in some way and make my family aware of this situation. Is there a way for me to stay anonymous? Could I retain or have another company/individual (i.e. a lawyer) make the copyright claim for me, thus maintaining my privacy? If this is the case, do you have any idea how much this might cost (especially as I would be more than willing to do almost all of the work, I would just need someone to submit it for me)?

3) Are there any other avenues I can take to have my pictures removed (especially the face one)? Beyond harassing and making people suffer by posting them to this site, I believe the owners of this website eventually want to see if they can make the site profitable. Currently it is free ad-supported website so I'm not sure if they are making a profit off of it. I bring this up as I am not sure how reputable companies (i.e. Progressive, eBay, Quicken, etc.) would feel about having themselves advertised on an explicit/pornographic site like this and was wondering if this could factor in somehow? I understand that I really have no power over the chat portion, but it is the face picture that makes me identifiable and hence why I want the pictures removed.

I know I made a mistake, that was completely out of character, in having this chat and showing pictures of myself to this person. I have suffered greatly because of this, I do not want my family to ever find out, and want this to end so I can move on with my life and not feel threatened. I know this post is long but I wanted to provide as much information as possible so that the professionals and knowledgeable people on this site can assess what my options are and offer me guidance.

Offering my thanks ahead of time for reviewing my post and hopefully presenting me with options to get out of this mess.

Thank You
 
This is a tough one. The first thing you might want to do is send the host a takedown notice pursuant to the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" which you should state in the letter. You have to make the following statements:

- A statement you are the owner and have the right to act;
- sufficient identification of the allegedly infringing material;
- sufficient information as to the location of the allegedly infringing material so that it may be found and identified;
- the complainant's name, address, telephone number and, if possible, email address;
- a written statement by the complainant of a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
- a statement by the complainant, under the penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complainant is the owner or is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that is allegedly infringed.

That's the first step you may want to take. As far as a lawsuit - do you really want to go through the trouble of filing one and then putting all of this in front of a court? Why not start with the takedown notice? Best of luck.
 
Thank you for your prompt reply. I want to send a takedown notice to the hosting company, but the thing that concerns me is that my personal information will be forwarded to the website in question, thus compromising my privacy and identity to these people, who I fear will do other things. Can I request that the hosting site keep my information confidential? If not should I consider exploring hiring an attorney (or other entity) to send the takedown notice pursuant to the DMCA? I have no real intention of pursuing a lawsuit. I just want my personal pictures removed. Thank you for your advice thus far.
 
I don't think you have a concern about privacy - the person who posted the information can easily publicize that it's you. The hosting company and web site probably have no interest in sharing the information (unless you're newsworthy) although you can place some wording about confidentiality in your letter.
 
You are most likely correct. However, the person that posted my information only knows my screen name and what part of Connecticut I live in. If they were to get my full name and address, I fear what repercussions this may present as they then would be able to post my information. I am not newsworthy but I get the impression the website and it's owners like the idea of exposing people and do not care about privacy. Would it be wise to talk to the hosting company and determine how much information they would share with the website? This might be bit paranoid, but I am considering getting a P.O. Box from which to correspond from and that may help. I'm just still trying to sort things out and your advice has been and will continue to be helpful. I thank you for you're insights regarding this matter.
 
No matter what you do, you're in a difficult position. My suggestion is that you hire an attorney and have him/her do the work. I send takedown notices all the time and usually if it comes from an attorney, the host will take it more seriously. I would go this route if it were me just because I'd want to do everything I can to make sure that I keep this out of the courts and would make the most intimidating case I can to avoid court. The authorized middleman will more likely solve your problem even though it will cost you much more than a PO Box. Call that the cost of having engaged in this activity.

You've got a legal challenge because you broadcast your image to another person. It's arguable what "implied" rights may exist or limitations - you just don't want to have to get there. Good luck with this.
 
Again thank you for your insight and I have thought about the legal challenge angle as I had broadcast my image to another person. However, it would appear that so far the owners of the website have minimal financial investment in the website (since it is a free ad-supported website) and I'm not sure how far they would want to fight.

I am seriously considering having an attorney send the take down notice, for the reason you specified and because it should also keep my name/private information out of the take down notice. Of course my biggest concern there would be cost as I only have so many resources to pull from. Thank you for your advice.
 
A follow-up to my last reply. I hope I am not being too much of a burden, but you certainly are helping me understand where I stand and hopefully helping others as well.

Would it be helpful to get an actual copyright registration on the photo to strengthen my position or would that not help? Also I have come to find out that the site has now set up a copyright information page where they give information on how to send a take down notice directly to the website itself. Would I be better served trying to go through the website first, before sending to the hosting company? I know they didn't reply when I first tried to contact them, but in this case (most likely through an attorney) I might do better. I ask this as it appears that people that were previously on the site have been taken down. What a slippery slope I have put myself on. Luckily the site still remains fairly obscure and hopefully will continue to be.
 
Thank you for your prompt reply. I want to send a takedown notice to the hosting company, but the thing that concerns me is that my personal information will be forwarded to the website in question, thus compromising my privacy and identity to these people, who I fear will do other things. Can I request that the hosting site keep my information confidential? If not should I consider exploring hiring an attorney (or other entity) to send the takedown notice pursuant to the DMCA? I have no real intention of pursuing a lawsuit. I just want my personal pictures removed. Thank you for your advice thus far.

good idea. i respect you !
 
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