In recent weeks, a Texas woman — formerly the object of unwanted prurient online attention — made national headlines when she sued Facebook for the staggering sum of $123 million for the social media giant’s role in hosting “revenge porn.”
Although the sum seems stratospheric, even delusional, the requested damages award has presumably achieved some of its calculated effect: to attract not only Facebook’s attention but also to put the phenomenon of non-consensual pornography further in the spotlight.
This article examines this lawsuit in light of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, as well as recent legislative activity in the states to combat revenge porn.
Although the sum seems stratospheric, even delusional, the requested damages award has presumably achieved some of its calculated effect: to attract not only Facebook’s attention but also to put the phenomenon of non-consensual pornography further in the spotlight.
This article examines this lawsuit in light of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, as well as recent legislative activity in the states to combat revenge porn.