Breakups can be extremely upsetting—especially when they turn ugly. Unscrupulous past significant others may have wanted to take revenge on the poor outcome of the relationship by posting intimate photos you had previously sent them without your consent. This is a complete violation of your privacy and a betrayal of your trust.



These photos are sent in confidence with the understanding that only your significant other was meant to see it. Finding it on a revenge website can be horrifying, as this can have serious consequences on your personal and professional life. Here’s what you need to know about permanently removing your photos from revenge porn websites: 



How They Protect Themselves



Even though most revenge porn websites characterize themselves as a platform that is “driven by user-submitted content”, which grants them almost blanket immunity by the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA). This allows these websites to operate without getting penalized or sanctioned for the uploaded content, as they are supposedly responsible only for facilitating the content, not for its creation or posting. 



Additionally, most of these websites have a disclaimer that distances them further from the act of posting, saying that they aren’t responsible for the content that is uploaded by its users. This means that the websites have no measures in place to protect the victims of revenge porn nor to discourage malicious users from continuing to upload private content without the individual’s consent.



Minimal Registration



Unfortunately, legal courses of action are difficult when pursuing the removal of malicious content from these websites as these users hide behind anonymity. These websites often have sparse registration requirements, with some not even requiring an email address, making it even more difficult to track them down. In fact, a revenge website even stated that they do not keep information of its users on its database, which makes it even easier for uploaders to continue posting non-consensual or defamatory content.



Lack of Content Verification and Monitoring



As these sites are protected by the CDA, they often do not screen or monitor the content that is uploaded. They claim that it is not their responsibility to do so and that there is a large continuous stream of content being uploaded every day, which makes it difficult for them to sift through and vet the posts. This allows illegal and extremely personal content to squeeze through. Moreover, many of these websites do not require its users to verify that the content they are uploading is consensual or factual.



Absent Removal Policies



Unsurprisingly, these websites have vague or completely absent removal policies about content that is malicious, non-consensual, or defamatory. In fact, they refuse to do so unless they are presented with a court order. While this offers hope for permanent removal through legal recourse, this makes it more complicated for the ordinary user who isn’t aware of the permanent removal options available to them. 



Third-Party Mediation



Revenge websites themselves will not remove the offending material, but they do partner with third-party arbitration services who have the capabilities to permanently remove the content. The process itself is suspicious: most of the time, the websites will request you to send payment directly to the removal service instead of facilitating it themselves. 



Conclusion



Finding your private photos maliciously posted on websites is disheartening, but know that there are ways to permanently remove them from the Internet. Protecting your personal information can be difficult and you may feel helpless, but fortunately, there are companies online that are more than happy to help you with this. They have protocols and a wide network that help you choose specific information to take down, giving you peace of mind about the safety of your information. 



If you’re trying to find out how to remove your online information, you’ve come to the right place. We are Content Removal, a company that removes your information from the internet. We help people protect their image online by working with offending online platforms and ensuring the content is permanently removed. Visit our website today to learn more!