ex is threatening to post private pictures - illegal?

[sarahd]

i sent my ex boyfriend a total of 3 "private pictures" breasts and below the belt. stupid, i know, but i was assured that he would never show anyone and these were just for him. we're broken up now, and he is still trying to hold on to me. he doesn't want to be with me anymore, but he still wants me to do things for him. ie. paint a pair of canvas sneakers for him. when he broke up with me, it was really bad circumstances, he hurt me a lot, and i told him i didn't want to see him anymore or finish his shoes, and he threatened to post the pictures on the internet. then i decided, well, i can't have that, so i'll just finish them. tonight he called me drunk and told me that he had sex with two girls (on top of the people i already knew about) sober and i really do not want to do him any more favors. i am hurt and broken up, but i am also really scared that if i don't do what he says (answer the phone when he calls me a billion times, reply to his texts, finish painting his shoes, meet him when he wants to) that he will post the pictures. is this illegal? and if so, do i have to wait till the deed is already done to get him in trouble?

 

[jacksgal]

You "gifted" the pictures therefore he owns them. Unless you were or are a minor either still or in the pictures he can as he wishes with them. However he cannot use them as threats or blackmail I suspect. Contact Police tell them he is trying to blackmail you. Keep in mind this could provoke him to post or display these pictures. Save all contacts eails, texts, phone messages etc you get from him. In meantime I am going to make sure I know where hubby put his pictures I gifted him

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You might be able to try a few things but this would be very difficult. You could claim that these pictures were given as a limited license for him to view and he had no publishing or distribution rights. This is yours truly thinking "outside of the box" and in addition to and much easier than talking about intent to cause emotional distress claims, which is all theoretical and up to you to spend money to prosecute. I think the best you do is explain to him the above and that his posting would be a violation of copyright (and could be subject to statutory damages in the thousands of dollars) which would be easy for you to put into the bank. If he posted them, send a "takedown notice" which we may already have up here online in our Help Guides area and will put this up later tonight in the forms section as well if it isn't there. Another thing you can do is search our site for "DMCA letter" and I know that I've posted one in the forums. Good luck!

 

[Juney10]

I'm being threatened by my ex bf. He is threatening to show photos (not nude) but exploit my gender as I am going through a gender change. It can really damage my career as a musician. I don't know what else he has planned but I think he will post many bad things that are not true. I was sent a letter by his ex bf's that he is gay and was only toying with me and it's his favorite psycho game to play with his victims. I'm concerned because he has my address, and real name. I don't know the extent of his mental disorder. Can I put a restraining order on him? He lives in Russia, and I live in Washington. Can I take any legal action without spending money? I'm only a school student. I'm also already 27. So I'm not underage. Can I send him a letter stating legally that he cannot post any private information of slander, private photos I asked him not to share, and my real name and address? He played like he had such bad cancer and even showed photos so I believed it and pulled into his deceit so I'm very concerned about my well being. Should I go to my local attorties as well?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Juney10 - you should probably start your own thread as this discussion concerns someone else (perhaps we do need to close out threads after a certain point.)

My guess is there is nothing you can do until your ex actually does something wrong. Pictures of you given to him, like with the original poster, are his. If he posts them it's within his rights. Slander or libel is a different story but stating the truth, even if it hurts you, is not usually actionable as a claim civilly or actually a criminal act to warrant prosecution.

 

[suziee]

So do i print out the DMCA letter?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

So do i print out the DMCA letter?

Here is a sample DMCA letter - a DMCA takedown. I should probably create a word or text file and will have it in our new Downloads section, available at the end of the month. In the meanwhile, here is an article that provides you with a sample DMCA takedown letter which you can copy and paste into email. As we don't know of your problem, I can't elaborate - feel free to begin a new thread.

 

[AdviceGiver]

Depending on which states you are from there is a law against it and it was used to prosecute Dharun Ravi after the suicide of Tyler Clementi and its called Revenge Porn, and its starting to get wide spread acceptance, it doesn't have to be cyber bullying but depending on where u live, even distribution or sharing it to others or using it as a threat to tarnish ones reputation is a form of Revenge Porn or a subsection of violation of Invasion of privacy.