1. Interpersonal Cybercrime and Revenge Porn
Margaret Lauer
CRJ 727
Professor Maras

2. Interpersonal Cybercrime
What is it?
Cybercrime in which one or more people are the victim and the offender is also a person; crime between people
Types:
Internet Trolls
Cyberstalking
Cyberharassment
Revenge Porn
Cyberbullying
Sextortion
Online Child Sex Predation
Online Child Grooming
Sexting

3. Interpersonal Cybercrime
Internet Trolls: Use Internet platforms and anonymity to “post highly offensive and inflammatory remarks… to provoke an emotional reaction.”
Criminalized in some countries, eg. The United Kingdom
Cyberstalking: “Use of the Internet, computers, and related technology to repeatedly threaten, harass, or frighten another individual.”
Current US law criminalizes true threats which leaves room for some speech to be protected under the First Amendment
Cyberharassment: “Intentionally alarm, annoy, attack, or verbally abuse another individual”
US Federal Law 47 U.S.C. § 223 prohibits cyberharassment; only applies to direct communications
Cyberbullying: Children using the Internet to “annoy, humiliate, alarm, insult, or otherwise attack other children.”
No Federal laws, only State laws; parents can be held responsible

4. Interpersonal Cybercrime
Sextortion: “Perpetrator threatens to disseminate sexually explicit photos or videos of the victim online if sexual demands are not met or if sexually explicit images or videos are not sent.”
Child Pornography: “Visual, audio, written, or other form of portrayal of sexual activity with a child under eighteen years of age that is designed to sexually arouse a viewer.”
Online Child Grooming: “The manipulation tactics an offender uses to gain the victim’s trust and ultimately lead them to engage in sexual activities.”
Several US laws criminalize possession, creation and distribution but only covers depictions of real children
Sexting: “The generation of sexually explicit content distributed through messaging services on mobile phones or via the Internet.”
Illegal when the person is under the age of 18

5. Revenge Porn
Nonconsensual pornography; sexual images of an individual are distributed without their consent
Photos are often posted with names, addresses, and contact information
Usually pictures are sent to distributer with consent but distributed without consent
Generally thought to happen in a relationship that ended badly; used for revenge and humiliation
Causes the victim fear, anxiety, depression, loss of job; victims have tried to change names and/or move from area; reputational damage; suicide
Difficult to make laws because of fear of overreach and First Amendment protections

6. Holly Jacobs
Florida Ph.D. student who shared intimate photos with her boyfriend, Ryan Seay
After a breakup, Seay shared her images online and compromised her social media accounts
Holly changed her name, jumped from job to job, and deactivated social media
Police initially would not help her because she voluntarily took the photos
Sued Seay for invasion of privacy; Seay claimed to be the victim
Charges dropped due to lack of evidence

7. Audrie Pott
California teen who committed suicide after humiliating and sexual pictures were shared through her school
Sexually assaulted while unconscious during a party and pictures taken without consent
Endured bullying and sexual harassment before committing suicide
Three male classmates arrested and charged with sexual assault

8. Revenge Porn as Sexual Harassment
A form of cyberharassment and cyberstalking
Sexual blackmail is not a new issue
Images have a permanency and wide reach online
Holly Jacobs sent pictures consensually; however Audrie Pott did not and endured harassment and bullying due to the assault
Both women were sexually harassed through both the initial unconsented sharing of the pictures and the continued victimization

9. Revenge Porn Countermeasures
Existing Laws
What Can be Done?
Prohibited by terms and conditions on some websites; discretion of the ISP
Immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
35 states and DC have laws under which revenge porn can be tried
Not unified:
DC – Criminalization of Non-Consensual Pornography Act of 2014
Maryland – Stalking and Harassment § 3-809, Maryland Code
Some laws require direct contact or threat or repeated harassment
Education
Student programs to help prevent all forms of interpersonal cybercrime
Law enforcement training to better enforce current laws
Host Site shutdowns; algorithms to prevent further sharing
Specific laws criminalizing revenge porn
Cyber Civil Rights Initiative provides models for ideal state, federal, and civil laws
CCRI provides guide for legislators and online removal guides
More resources for victims

10. References
Lai, A. (2016). Revenge porn as sexual harassment: Legislation, advocacies, and implications. The Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice,19(2),
Maras, M. (2017). Cybercriminology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Miller, M. E. (2016, April 02). Revenge Porn Victim Holly Jacobs "Ruined My Life," Ex Says. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from jacobs-ruined-my-life-ex-says
Scheller, S. (2015). A picture is worth a thousand words: The legal implications of revenge porn. North Carolina Law Review,93(2),
Speak Up! (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2017, from
Stebner, B. (2013, September 18). New York Daily News. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from suicide-article
Stebner, B. (2013, May 03). New York Daily News. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from