Adam Steinbaugh, who has been all over this case from the get-go, writes:
Last month, the FTC announced it intends to enter into a consent agreement with Craig Brittain, the operator of revenge porn site “Is Anybody Down?” Brittain pretended to be a woman on Craigslist to deceive women into sending him nude photos, mocked their pleas to remove the photos, then concocted an ‘independent’ but fake lawyer — “David Blade III” the “takedown hammer” — to extort them into paying $250 to remove the photos.
Since then, Brittain had the chutzpah to try to use copyright law — the same law he claimed didn’t apply to him — to try to get Google to delete references to the proposed settlement.
The FTC is currently soliciting comments from the public as to whether they should vote to accept the consent agreement. They should not. The FTC should proceed with litigation against Brittain for the reasons below. While I am skeptical that the FTC will reverse course — the initial vote was unanimous — additional public pressure may sway the Commission.
Read more on AdamSteinbaugh.com. The opportunity to try to influence the Commission’s final action closes Monday, so don’t delay if you think you want to comment on the consent agreement.