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Google threatened with $100m lawsuit over nude celebrity photos Google threatened with $100m lawsuit over nude celebrity photos
(about 5 hours later)
Lawyers for some of the celebrities whose private photos were released by hackers are threatening to sue Google on behalf of unnamed clients for $100m over the search firm’s failure to remove the images from its index. Lawyers representing celebrities whose private photos were published by hackers have threatened to sue Google for $100m, accusing the company of “making millions from the victimisation of women”.
The entertainment lawyer Martin Singer, who has previously represented the director Bryan Singer, actor John Travolta and comedian Charlie Sheen, has reportedly written to Google demanding that the company pay up for its “blatantly unethical behaviour”. Private images of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Rihanna and others were widely distributed on the internet last month in the largest celebrity hacking scandal in history.
In the letter, seen by the New York Post’s Page Six, Singer reportedly accuses Google of failing “to act expeditiously, and responsibly to remove the images”… and of “knowingly accommodating, facilitating, and perpetuating the unlawful conduct. The top entertainment lawyer Martin Singer has written to Google demanding that the company pay for its “blatantly unethical behaviour”. His Los Angeles-based firm Lavely & Singer represents more than a dozen of the women affected, the director Bryan Singer and the actors John Travolta and Charlie Sheen.
Page Six reports that Singer accuses Google of “making millions and profiting from the victimisation of women.” In the letter, addressed to Google’s co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and other top executives, and first published by the New York Post’s Page Six website, Singer accused the tech giant of failing “to act expeditiously and responsibly to remove the images” and of “knowingly accommodating, facilitating, and perpetuating the unlawful conduct”.
“Google knows the images are hacked stolen property, private and confidential photos and videos unlawfully obtained and posted by pervert predators who are violating the victims’ privacy rights,” the reported letter continues, “yet Google has taken little or no action to stop these outrageous violations.” “Google’s ‘do no evil’ motto is a sham,” he wrote.
Singer’s letter, sent on behalf of his unnamed clients, claims that he sent a notice to Google to remove the images four weeks ago, but that many are still available on Google sites such as BlogSpot and YouTube. “Google knows the images are hacked stolen property, private and confidential photos and videos unlawfully obtained and posted by pervert predators who are violating the victims’ privacy rights … Yet Google has taken little or no action to stop these outrageous violations.”
He continues by saying to Google that “because the victims are celebrities with valuable publicity rights you do nothing – nothing but collect millions of dollars in advertising revenue … as you seek to capitalise on this scandal rather than quash it. Like the NFL, which turned a blind eye while its players assaulted and victimised women and children, Google has turned a blind eye while its sites repeatedly exploit and victimise these women.” Singer’s letter, sent on behalf of his unnamed clients, claims that he sent a notice to the company to remove the images four weeks ago, but that many are still available on Google sites such as BlogSpot and YouTube.
Google was unable to comment on Singer’s letter at the time of publication. He said that after the images were released over the Labor Day holiday weekend, his office had written to various website operators and internet service providers (ISPs) demanding that the images be taken down under the digital millennium copyright act (DMCA). The DMCA requires tech firms to “expeditiously” remove unlawful images from their servers.
If Singer’s threats are taken to court, it won’t be the first time Google has faced legal action over inadvertently facilitating the spread of nude photos. In March this year, Hollie Toups, 34, sued both Yahoo and Google for failing to remove links to pictures of herself hosted on a revenge porn site. “The vast majority of those sites and ISP/hosts, all of which are much smaller than Google, with far fewer staff and resources, complied with their obligations under the DMCA and removed the images within an hour or two of receiving our DMCA notice,” he wrote.
Like Singer, Toups alleged that she had sent Google proper notice, requesting links to the pictures be taken down, but that the company refused to do so. Google, by contrast, had “recklessly allowed these blatant violations to continue in conscious disregard of our clients’ rights”.
“Because the victims are celebrities with valuable publicity rights you do nothing, nothing but collect millions of dollars in advertising revenue … as you seek to capitalise on this scandal rather than quash it. Like the NFL, which turned a blind eye while its players assaulted and victimised women and children, Google has turned a blind eye while its sites repeatedly exploit and victimise these women.”
No one from Google was available for comment at the time of publication.
If Singer follows through on his threat to go to court, it will not be the first time Google has faced legal action over inadvertently facilitating the spread of nude photos. In March this year, Hollie Toups, 34, sued both Yahoo and Google for failing to remove links to pictures of herself hosted on a revenge porn site.
Like Singer, Toups alleged that she had sent Google proper notice, requesting links to the pictures be taken down, but that the company had refused to do so.