
Hunter Moore’s Revenge Porn Site Will Map Submitted Photos to People’s Addresses - iProject
http://betabeat.com/2012/11/hunter-moores-scary-as-shit-revenge-porn-site-will-map-submitted-photos-to-peoples-addresses/
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rauljara
Willfully and gleefully helping to destroy people's lives. My brain normally
just shuts down at such a level of awfulness, which means it's probably worth
trying to understand, at least at the intellectual level.

I mean, is this just straight up sadism? Is the guy just happy ruining stuff,
a child knocking over blocks, except that he's in a grown man's body? Doesn't
seem implausible, but I don't feel like I understand it any better.

Is it the money? A cold calculation? But he seems to be so happy about
everything, and frankly, not bright enough for that. "I have nerds for days...
I have nerds on nerds." Really?

Is he one of those that just can't back down from an argument? The article
mentions he was recently in a physical fight. Maybe he did something jerky a
long time ago, someone called him out on his jerkyness, and so he doubled
down, was even jerkier, just to show that other guy. He did that a couple of
times, just to prove he couldn't be called out on stuff and it became a habit.
Now he's wired to seek out stuff that other people will react poorly to,
because in some portion of his brain it translates to him winning an argument.

I like that third explanation the best, because there are parts of the
behavior I can relate to. I can sort of understand how it could happen. But
this guy is so far out there, I just have no idea. My own emotions are
probably a really crappy guide for figuring out how that guy ticks.

~~~
Jabbles
In order for his site to succeed it will depend on thousands of "sadists"
submitting content, and thousands more viewing it (and paying? or adverts?).

It will be a sad day for society - the best we can do is not give his site the
Oxygen of publicity.

~~~
zimbatm
It's just sex. If the society didn't regard this activity as shameful then
this website wouldn't have the same kind of attraction.

I imagine a website where people would post photos of people enjoying a glass
of wine :)

~~~
Jabbles
I wouldn't want photos of me doing anything uploaded without my permission,
visible to anyone and tagged with my name and address.

Just because something is private doesn't mean it's shameful.

~~~
zimbatm
I agree but admit that the site wouldn't have the same traction if it
contained photos of other private activities like for example people brushing
their teeth.

------
bluetidepro
I have quite a few friends (through the music industry) that know Hunter
pretty well and have told me quite a few stories about him, his actions, his
personality, etc. I also know a small handful of girls that had photos of
themselves posted on his site IsAnyoneUp. _And at one point, I was even almost
referred to him to work on IsAnyoneUp, BUT I quickly made it obvious I wanted
absolutely nothing to do with that type of site._

I honestly consider a person like Hunter, a true psychopath. After hearing the
stories about him, he just reminds me of the joker in The Dark Knight. With
that, the quote _"Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn"_ fits him very
well. It sickens me that someone can actually get such a head high over
ruining other peoples lives. It also frustrates me so much because I saw first
hand the pain and hopelessness he caused some of my innocent friends (the
girls that had their pictures posted) over the content he had on his site. I
will never understand a person like this and why they do the horrible things
they do. :/

~~~
theorique
_I will never understand a person like this and why they do the horrible
things they do._

My guess?

 _Lulz_

Seriously, this guy sounds like he's reveling in being the "bad guy", trolling
for media attention and clicks.

We have all been trolled.

------
paulsutter
While he may feel safe under the CDA, all it takes is one jury in one
jurisdiction. There are so many laws on the books in so many states (not to
mention the body of common law from court cases), that he should find himself
in hot water. Not only civil but criminal. Especially when his stated
intentions reflect pretty clear mens rea [1]. Willful blindness would be bad
enough but his quotes are far worse.

Ventures that feel the need to state "It's completely legal! my lawyers
checked" are usually a bad idea.

[1] <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea>

~~~
gamache
He's getting into the business of destroying lives. I don't think it's lawyers
that will end him.

~~~
danso
Whatever happens, the pushback by policy makers will likely result in
overbearing regulations that affect all Internet users.

~~~
danielweber
An even better reason for us ("us" being an extremely general term for
Internet users that I use without asking anyone's permission) to figure out
someway to stop him before the legislators make things even worse.

------
nicholassmith
There was a profile on him a while back, and he came across as the biggest
douchebag that ever lived but if he thinks he can get away with basically
enabling stalking he's probably going to find out rapidly that he's not as
sheltered under the law as he hopes.

~~~
pavel_lishin
I have a feeling this is going to end as an ironic morality tale, where his
address will end up published online by Anonymous or /b/ or the like.

~~~
nicholassmith
Pretty much, eventually he'll piss off the wrong person, and they'll either
have lots of money and make sure he gets done for something, or they'll be
incredibly nasty and find out where he lives and either post it online for
some just desserts, or go give him a slap. Or both.

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jiggy2011
I always assumed that those "girlfriend revenge" and "facebook hacked" type
porn sites were just bullshit and it was content that had been sold
legitimately or maybe ripped from /r/gonewild (NSFW).

If you look at the bottom of these sites there is a 2257 compliance statement
which means that they must keep records on all of the models (copies of
passport etc) to prove that they are over 18.

They also say they require agreement from anybody appearing in the photos.

~~~
elliottcarlson
If there is a fetish or interest in a specific topic, there will be sites
faking the shots for more sales - all about supply and demand. There are then
obviously also the people with real content that are looking to share that as
well. It's like the movie 8mm - they are searching for proof of a snuff film,
and while everyone says they don't exist, and all the ones they find are
fakes, they finally uncover the one they are holding on to is indeed real. The
majority of those sites will be fake - but there will be some that are real as
well.

------
HyprMusic
"websites are immune from legal responsibility for content submitted by
others."

I'm guessing he doesn't read the news.

~~~
tlowrimore
...and this is why we can't have anything nice. This should give all of our
lawmakers, wanting to impose more and more restrictions on how we use the web,
more fuel for their cause.

------
shawn-butler
How is it any different than a coed distributing a powerpoint presentation
about her sexual history as a "thesis" complete with photos, rankings and
commentary about their partners performance? I don't believe that woman or the
social and email networks the document traversed faced any criminal mischief
charges? People have always took console during breakups with their friends
with whom they share (largely untrue) stories and get positive feedback as
therapy. The concept of "friends" has clearly changed now encompassing a huge
population so why not exploit that as a startup?

As long as the information presented is not fraudulently obtained, I fail to
see how at first glance how the company is going to be held legally culpable.
The only difficult area will be as it was before: restricting information
about minors (especially images) and ensuring that the site is not used to
harass victims of a crime.

However, what has changed since his last website went offline is the
implementation of many new "cyber-bullying" laws. I think the case could be
made that posting information like this now would amount to "bullying" in many
jurisdictions. But in my opinion, these new statutes really need to be tested
and bounds set as they are poorly conceived laws.

As for decaying moral standards, any ethical debate about sexual morality in
the US lost its legitimacy a long time ago. There's no putting that genie back
in the bottle. Not judging women as "sluts" or men as "dbags" for their
behavior has the necessary consequence of accepting just exactly this sort of
thing on the flip side of that coin.

This guy will face a lot of negative publicity that's to be sure, but it's the
kind of attention he apparently craves. And from the success of his previous
endeavor (his alexa ranking was not insignificant), it seems more likely than
not he will succeed in achieving some SEO success with this one as well. What
is missing from the article and what intrigues me from an entrepreneurial
perspective is any sense of how he intends to make money. And I kind of wonder
how he is getting good legal advice as, if I recall correctly, he skipped out
on paying his last attorneys [0]. Also if memory serves, he sold the trademark
and concept for isanyoneup to someone whom expressly wanted to shut it down. I
wonder what the fine print of that contract has to say about future endeavors.

[0]
[http://bv.1110.cds.contentcolo.net/uploads/files/HunterMoore...](http://bv.1110.cds.contentcolo.net/uploads/files/HunterMooreLegalBill-
PastDue.pdf)

------
juridatenshi
Well, this all sounds sufficiently horrifying and terrible.

~~~
nilved
It's both of those things, but I don't understand why there needs to be a post
on HN about it. Stuff like this has existed for a very long time, just not in
such an explicit, brazen form.

~~~
mnicole
Because awareness is going to be his downfall; this type of service should
simply not exist.

------
rpm4321
Reading about a person like Hunter Moore is one of the rare times I'm very
glad that Anonymous and their extra-judicial brand of justice exists.

Cue The Dark Knight "hero we deserve" quote.

~~~
mediocregopher
You do realize that anonymous and their 4chan originators have been doing this
kind of thing for years, right?

Off the top of my head: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNO6G4ApJQY>
<http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/jessi-slaughter>

I wouldn't expect much backlash from anonymous on this one.

~~~
rpm4321
Yep, I'm aware of some of the nasty things that happen on 4chan.

In my defense, I made it clear that I think this is one of those rare cases
where Internet-vigilante justice is not only excusable, but possibly even
noble. This man is a truly reprehensible human being, and may have found a way
to continue to act in this way with impunity. If there is absolutely no
recourse available to civil society, I really don't have a problem with him
getting the worst Anonymous has to offer - which, let's face it, pales in
comparison to what the state can dish out when it wants to.

In their defense, it seems like many of the high-profile, highly organized
campaigns by Anonymous have been against worthy targets like drug cartels and
cults, rather than some random vile post by some script kiddy on 4chan.

I could very easily see them going after this guy.

------
jrockway
Sounds like a publicity stunt, like when Ryanair says they are going to start
charging for using the restroom on the plane. Saying something ridiculous is
what gets you free press, not actually doing it.

------
nicholassmith
For some more context on why this guy is a giant douchebag:
[http://www.vice.com/read/hunter-moores-new-site-will-make-
ge...](http://www.vice.com/read/hunter-moores-new-site-will-make-getting-a-
blowjob-as-easy-as-ordering-pizza) NWS! Although the url might give that away.

And: [http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-most-hated-
man-...](http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-most-hated-man-on-the-
internet-20121113) a much less NWS but I'd still have a think if you're at
work.

He's essentially an internet troll, he enjoys fame, he likes being mean, he
wants to be idolised and hated. He thinks he's in the right. More importantly
he's said before "someone was going to monetize it", which is weird as prior
to it I can't remember it ever being as big as it became because of him.

------
nsxwolf
This guy is a scumbag.

~~~
jpdoctor
I know what goes around, comes around, but sometimes I wish that karma would
just hurry it up a bit.

------
tzs
Eventually, one of these kind of sites will put up a photo of the child of
someone who is in the field of waste management.

Then the site owner might find that legal safe harbors are not the only kind
of harbor he should have been concerned with.

------
theorique
Some further back story to Hunter Moore, bodhisattva and humanitarian:

[http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/11/22/how-
hunte...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/11/22/how-hunter-moore-
could-get-into-legal-trouble-for-the-revenge-porn-on-isanyoneup/)

<http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/3430751/>

~~~
theorique
From the linked article:

Three things fangirls have tweeted at him in the past week:

"If you had aids, id still f--k you just to say i have aids and that i got
aids from you";

"One day I'm going to have Hunter Moore tattooed on my stomach with an arrow
pointing down that says 'God Was Here'"

"I wonder how many girls have tried to steal @Huntermoore used condoms."

~~~
pyre
These comments are so over-the-top that I can only imagine that he is
controlling the accounts that tweeted them.

~~~
throwit1979
You're attributing to staging what can be adequately explained by reality.

See: the myriad women tweeting about how they would love to get beaten up by
Chris Brown.

For better or for worse, being the bad boy "works". And it works
extraordinarily well for a larger proportion than we'd like to believe.

------
danso
Not to be a profit-motivated-douchebag here...but what's the point of this
exactly? I mean, what value does adding addresses serve to the bottom line?
The site will already draw traffic because: it's porn. There's already, I
think in EVERYONE's opinion, sufficient schadenfreude from strangers' private
photos being posted online.

And so what does adding addresses do? OK, it gives the submitter more of a
feeling of power. For the average gawker...how many of them are going to get
significant value from knowing the address? And OK, inevitably, there will be
a few users who get "value" from the address, and these users will cause
significant blowback towards your already over-the-top site. The only logical
reason I can think of going this legally questionable (nevermind unethical)
route is that he's afraid he's not getting enough attention as it is.

This seems more like a pathological desire for chaos and misery than any
actual entrepreneurship.

~~~
danielweber
_I mean, what value does adding addresses serve to the bottom line?_

Because a competitor site did it. Check out this blog[1] for some details.

Granted, that site did it because they wanted to profit from people paying to
get their stuff taken down while pretending to be a lawyer. Which may have
crossed a line which will land those sociopaths in jail.

[1] <http://www.popehat.com/tag/is-anybody-down/>

~~~
Judson
>Because a competitor site did it.

According to the article, Hunter Moore also ran that site as well.

~~~
danielweber
"Is Anybody Down" is the "new" site that Marc Randazza has set sights on
destroying.

~~~
makomk
Amusingly enough, it looks like the company he's working for to destroy that
site makes its money - at least indirectly - from putting up embarrassing
information about people and making them pay to get it removed.

------
danso
Some interesting background reading on this from the Village Voice, back in
May:

[http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-16/news/hacker-is-
anyone...](http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-16/news/hacker-is-anyone-up-
hunter-moore-fbi/)

The report implies that some of the IAU content may have been through a
Facebook social engineering hack...a hacker gains access to one person's
account and then chats that person's friends, claiming to have lost her phone
and needing a friend to read her back Facebook's password confirmation code,
which has been sent to the friend's phone.

The confirmation code, of course, is for the friend's account...who know finds
him/herself locked out of their FB and linked social accounts.

