Brittain has filed a complaint against Google under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, citing “Unauthorized use of photos of me and other related information. Unauthorized use of statements and identity related information. Unauthorized copying of excerpts from isanybodydown.com. Using photos which are not 'fair use'.”
Along with his site, IsAnybodyDown?, Brittain allegedly ran an extortion service through another site, which would charge people, hundreds of dollars to have their naked pictures removed
— Dan Amrich (@DanAmrich) February 25, 2015
Earlier this year the Federal Trade Commission banned Brittain from ever publicly sharing nude photos without someone’s express consent. The ban was part of a settlement concerning the site which featured images of over 1,000 people, the vast majority women, along with identifying information from their social media profiles, and even phone numbers and addresses.
— Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) February 25, 2015
The first of the 23 URLs listed in Brittain’s complaint is actually the FTC press release linked above. Most of the other sites are news sites ranging from Wired magazine to local TV news affiliates suggesting that Brittain, much like Maryland Lawmaker Kirby Delauter, may have a shaky understanding of what kinds of materials — like the names of people involved in public legal battles — can be used for news reporting purposes. Google has not complied with the request.
Brittain’s site was a spin off of IsAnybodyUp?, a revenge porn site which was shut down in 2012 and whose founder, Hunter Moore, at one point faced federal charges stemming from allegations that some of the images posted were obtained illegally. The first conviction of a revenge porn site operator came in February, when Kevin Bollaert was convicted in California of 27 counts of identity theft and extortion.
Colorado and California are two of 16 states with laws on the books specifically target revenge porn.
— Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) February 26, 2015
