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Revenge porn: Owner Craig Brittain says he's proud of site for "involuntary" nude photos

By Michael Roberts Wed., Feb. 6 2013 at 6:21 AM
Categories: News, Tech
Continued from page 1

Here's part one of Maass' interview with Brittain:

revenge porn.jpg
Original post, 8:56 a.m. February 4: It's not exactly a news flash that the Internet is littered with nude photos, not all of which have been posted with the subjects' permission. However, the man behind a Colorado Springs website appears to have come up with a new and startlingly sleazy way to make bank from this phenomenon -- coaxing people to post explicit shots, perhaps as a way of humiliating an ex, then earning money from a service that orders that the images be removed.

CBS4's report about the phenomenon -- see the first package in an ongoing series below -- doesn't mention the name of the site. But the Colorado Springs Independent's January feature article on the subject identifies it as Is Anybody Down? (No, we're not including a link.) The site's home page advertises its alleged attributes like so: "Unstoppable Nudes -- Give Us Your Nudes -- Submit Nudes Anonymously."

revenge porn screen capture 1.jpg
A screen capture from the site.
The site is easily searchable by name as well as by location. What pops up are photos, many of them extremely hardcore, depicting lots of women and some men from across the country in sexual poses and situations. Predictably, the comments seen below them are not of the high-brow variety. Here are several examples from the item devoted to just one Colorado woman:
I am in Denver. If you ever need some spoonin lol

wow! verry hot! send me some pics if you don't mind

Hey, cool, we both go to CSU! Want to hook up?

Dam your hot we would love to fuck you we live in Fort Collins as well.

The existence of this material on Is Anybody Down? would be repulsive enough for most victims. But also included on numerous occasions are Facebook pages and sometimes even phone numbers that allow posters like those above to directly contact the objects of their creepy cyber-lust.

Craig Brittain's reportedly the man behind Is Anybody Down? -- but surfers searching for his name on the website doesn't give them access to pics of him showing off his naughty parts. Instead, the curious are directed to a link entitled "Takedown Hammer: Professional Content Removal Request Services." The listing reads:

Hello. Do you need an experienced team that can help remove content from this website or other websites?

Choose Takedown Hammer.

We have issued over 90 successful removal requests for this website so far and a total of over 500 removals from various internet websites. We are professionals. If you want content removed, Takedown Hammer is the way to go.

Also included is a link to the Takedown Hammer website, which reveals how much this service costs: $250.

Continue for more about the Colorado Springs revenge-porn website.


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heather.vicha
heather.vicha

I cannot believe some of the comments on here.  How is it the woman's fault for taking private pictures of themselves for a person that they are dating?  And it doesn't make them whores who deserve it either.  When you are in a relationship and you have trust in someone, you would never think that they would do something to hurt you.  Screw Brittain and these douchebags who are posting pics of their exes.  What a bunch of loser cowards.

ryanjohnsmith1013
ryanjohnsmith1013

How about not taking pictures of yourself to begin with ? If I wanted to see your body I'd come over and see it. 

Considering there are women with better bodies on the web, what's the point ? 

Jamesfromcali
Jamesfromcali like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

I keep seeing a lot of articles lately about revenge porn and almost all of the stories act like it's a female only issue.

As a male victim of revenge porn, it makes me upset that this side of the issue is ignored.  I have lost money, friends, girlfriends and have been massively humiliated due to several nude photos of myself being posted on these revenge porn sites and other places. 

I am hoping for some laws to give us a way to fight this, that is my ultimate goal.  In the meantime, however, I would like to see some of these articles mentioning the fact that some men are victims and suffer as well.  I know some guys wouldn't care if their pictures ended up the internet, but some of us are deeply effected by it.  I am one of them.

heather.vicha
heather.vicha

@Jamesfromcali The reason you hear more of the women's side is because it happens to us so much more than it happens to men.  And, as you said, most men do not care.  Women are so often violated that it needs to be addressed.

I am very sorry that you were also violated like this and it should be outlawed.  People should not be allowed to post explicit photos or videos of people without their consent.  Both men and women.  This Brittain guy is a huge douche and I hope any woman that he tries to date sees what a douche he is.  I hope he never gets laid again - unless he pays for it.


Adam Cooper
Adam Cooper

Maybe by exploiting the girls whorish ways and lack of brains they'll learn a lesson to grow the fuck up.

Denise Ortega
Denise Ortega like.author.displayName 1 Like

Extorting someone who has poor judgement is morally reprehensible, and even more disgusting after you have been told of the anguish it is causing. I agee, the girls made stupid decisions, but they did have an expectation of privacy. What a sleaze!!

Jrush JediNinja Vertigo
Jrush JediNinja Vertigo

who cares? dont snap nude pics if you dont want everyone seeing them. i think the site should stay just because of the girls stupidity of taking nude pics and sending them. im not saying its right, but you already are asking for it when you take that pic & send it to someone elses phone/email...

Mnizzle
Mnizzle like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

He's gonna' get killed eventually.

And no one's gonna' miss him either.

DonkeyHotay
DonkeyHotay topcommenter like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

It's Criminal Extortion ... the fool is going to burn!

Monkey
Monkey

They do the same thing with mug shots when someone gets arrested, $200 and we'll remove it. 

rsears457
rsears457 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@Monkey not equivalent! mug shots are in the public domain, taken by government officials. these photographs are not.

DonkeyHotay
DonkeyHotay topcommenter like.author.displayName 1 Like

@rsears457 @Monkey 

Show me the Public Domain www site for the Denver Police Dept and the ~100 people they arrest every day

For that matter, show me the Public Domain site for the daily name roster of inmates -- currently held in secret -- for the Denver County Jail ... and their mug shots.


rsears457
rsears457 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@DonkeyHotay @rsears457 @Monkey i have read these pages enough to know you are a troll.

unless sealed by a court order, all arrests and court proceeding are a matter of public record. occasionally, published in the denver post if you are arrested for solicitation of prostitution.

Chris Weis
Chris Weis like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

So it's a rip off of is anyoneup.com which did the same thing and has since been shut down? Google Hunter Moore and you will see what kid of creep these guys are.

rsears457
rsears457 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

this kid should get arrested for 1) extortion - posting photos and making money off their removal; 2) fraud - making money off of imagery that he does not have permission from the 'model'; 3) copyright infringement - the person who takes the photo holds copyrights. in many if the accompanying images seem to be self portraits  - the women in the images own copyrights and they did not sign them away when giving that image to another person.  

if they can recall who they gave a specific image to, they can sue the ex-friend for copyright infringement as well. 

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter

@rsears457 There's always the whole taking personal responsibility for your actions thing.

rsears457
rsears457 like.author.displayName 1 Like

@BackOffImStarving @rsears457 responsibility for what - dating immature jerks who try to publicly humiliate the women who decided they were children and moved on? 

or are you trying to be a bully, who passes morally corrupt judgment on anyone who he disagrees with?

rsears457
rsears457 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

@BackOffImStarving @rsears457 @Cecil exactly my point about you -

opinion: you don't believe people should take naked photos.

judgment: if they do, they are stupid.

moralism: you get what you deserve.

and that is all well and good. BUT, you are using that opinion to dismiss actual crimes. do you blame the passed out girl for her rape at a party? that is exactly what is taking place here - sexual exploitation.

these were private photos,  not 'girls gone wild' type public displays. because they were private and made public with out permission of the subject. they are illegal displays.

your opinion (the stupidity of the photo) does not change the legal issues that the ex-friends committed and this site is committing. 

rsears457
rsears457

@BackOffImStarving @Cecil @rsears457 just because you do not understand the legal issues involved and only want to pass judgment upon others does not change anything.

i will make this simple; when you buy a photograph, or a CD; you own the piece of paper or plastic -NOT THE INFORMATION ON THE MEDIUM. 

copyright law state that ownership of the camera is irrelevant. also, the TOS of a website is null and void if ownership of the image is in doubt; which is the case here. you do not have the right to use my image without permission, and that is exactly what is happening here.

 i agree with you about the stupidity, but that does not have anything to do with the law. and that is what you keep doing. passing judgment on these women for trusting someone. 

in effect you are  blaming the victim for a crime committed against them. the reason you seem to continue to try to insult me, and blame these women for the actions of immature individuals, is probably you are the guy who started this illegal website or are one of the immature individuals trying to humiliate someone through this website.

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter

@Cecil @BackOffImStarving @rsears457 Durrr... Some of the websites on which these idiots post their own images have TOS language attached to their use, thus making the images not their property anymore... durrrr.  And if the camera was the property of the boyfriend/girlfriend and NOT the idiot posing naked in the photo, then whose property is it, really?  Durrrr... is that better?  Let's see you come up with an argument beyond "naked photo, sue everyone, my property durrrrrr."  You can't fix stupid.  You can't un-take a picture. Why is this so hard for you to understand, unless the former affliction applies directly to you.

Cecil
Cecil

@BackOffImStarving @rsears457 And just because you have a computer doesn't mean that you can formulate an argument beyond "durrrr don't take a naked photo of yourself or you deserve what happens to you." 

Being "stupid"--where the moralistic part of your non-argument jump in, in case you were wondering--isn't a crime, fyi. But stealing property, which appears to be the case in at least a few of these instances, is.

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter

@rsears457 I'm not passing a moralistic judgment.  Call it a stupidity judgment.  Anyone, man OR woman, who takes naked pictures of themselves and doesn't immediately destroy them is an idiot.  Did I say these were bad people?  No.  I said they are stupid.  Big difference.  Just because you know some tidbits of copyright law doesn't make you a lawyer.  

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter

@Cecil @BackOffImStarving @rsears457 Right.  Me being a prick caused the pictures to be taken in the first place, right?  I know!  Let's sue everyone when we do stupid shit and can't handle the consequences!  Yay!

Cecil
Cecil

@BackOffImStarving@rsears457

It doesn't matter in the slightest whether "something could happen." Something terrible could happen to you because of myriad prosaic reasons and it not be your fault. These women didn't ask for their photos to be displayed online; whether or not they could end up there is entirely immaterial.

You're not a bold internet crusader for personal responsibility. You're a moralistic prick. Fin.

rsears457
rsears457 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

@BackOffImStarving @rsears457 actually your reply shows that you are being a bully.

you are passing a moralistic judgment on these women for taking a photograph and giving it to some one they trusted. saying they deserved this type of treatment is to dismiss the criminality of their former friends actions.  do you blame all victims for the crimes committed against them? or just women?

my logic is based in actual copyright law and not some theoretical standard of stupidity as you suggest. the actions of the former friends who posted these photos for purposes of humiliation and revenge are criminal acts. 

the wisdom of the decision to take these photos is not a judgment i need to make; but it is the only argument you wish to pursue. 

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter

@rsears457 @BackOffImStarving I'm not trying to  be a bully.  If you're too stupid to stop and think, " Hey, if I take a picture of my naked body and disseminate them to other people and NOTHING could possibly happen as a result,"  then you get what you deserve.  By your "logic," if I fired up my stove and purposefully fried my fingers to a golden brown with a little olive oil and sea salt, I could then sue GE for selling me the stove I used to harm myself.  Genius!

Ashley Lynch
Ashley Lynch

there are plenty of these types of sites out there, they however are not revenge sites at all, the girls get cast, sign releases, and get paid.

rycoop21
rycoop21 like.author.displayName 1 Like

No one should get in trouble... if anything, the people who actually took naked, explicit photos of themselves should be under fire for being so stupid... the kid was just taking exploiting other peoples stupidity and lack of self respect.

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter

@rycoop21 The kid shouldn't have done it, but I agree that the people who took the photos are extremely, incredibly, unequivocally stupid.  I don't think they deserve to win a lawsuit unless they can prove they lost a job over it.  A "lesson learned" for one party and a cease and desist letter for the other.

Alec Revelle
Alec Revelle like.author.displayName 1 Like

wow, what a surprise that Craig Brittain looks like a total douche...

Adam Cooper
Adam Cooper

HA! Maybe don't a slut and take naked pictures of yourself on your phone in the first place. Nobody learned from Favre?

BackOffImStarving
BackOffImStarving topcommenter like.author.displayName 1 Like

Who would've thought that taking naked pictures of yourself to send to people over the internet could have negative consequences?  Boo hoo.

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