What is Nonconsensual Pornography or “Revenge Porn”?

With the click of a mouse, a bitter ex can upload compromising photos or videos of a victim to public websites without the consent of the pictured individual. These sexually explicit images quickly make their way to the attention of the victim’s family members, friends, co-workers, classmates, colleagues, and employers. Victims are routinely threatened, stalked, and tormented. They have difficulty finding work and often get fired from or are forced to leave their current jobs or schools because of the severity of the harassment. Some victims of nonconsensual pornography have even committed suicide.

What is the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project?

K&L Gates founded the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project to help victims of nonconsensual pornography by providing them legal assistance on a pro bono basis. The Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project is founded on the principle that people have a right of privacy in their intimate photographs and videos, and that the public, online dissemination of that media without consent is an invasion of that sexual privacy amounting to a “cyber civil rights” violation.

What Does the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project Have to Offer?

Recognizing that victims of this type of cybercrime often have limited access to legal counsel and few viable legal options, the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project offers knowledgeable legal representation to victims around the globe.

Because K&L Gates operates on an international platform, the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project can offer quality pro bono legal services to victims of this cyber epidemic who reside both within the United States and in a number of jurisdictions outside the United States.

Please note, however, that the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project cannot help victims who are under the age of 18 or whose issues involve nonconsensual pornography or images taken when they (or another party in the image) were under the age of 18. The project also does not take cases involving “sextortion” in which an unknown individual obtains images and threatens to share or post them if money is not paid.

By working with established advocacy groups such as The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (whose website also provides information and resources) and fusing the firm’s elite cyberforensic skills with the legal acumen of its attorneys, the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project aims to become a leading legal resource to protect the rights of revenge porn victims worldwide.

The Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project is fighting to end the revenge.