Representing Victims of Revenge Pornography (Update)

“Revenge Porn” is the nonconsensual publication or sharing of sexual images or videos.  It has received a great deal of attention in the media and in the courthouse. Often, lawyers are asked by victims for help in getting the unwanted content removed from social media sites and from the hands of private parties only to find that their state has no express prohibition against the activity. Sites may assert First Amendment rights to publish the images or videos they received.  Law enforcement agencies often do not take the complaint seriously, especially if the victims took the images or videos themselves and shared them with a trusted partner who then re-published it without permission. This course will help you answer your client’s questions about what can be done and provide concrete methods to obtain relief on behalf of your clients.

This program is taught by Oscar Michelen, a New York litigator who has helped scores of Revenge Porn victims. One of the few attorneys who agreed to take on these fights before they were common, Mr. Michelen will take you through what has worked for him in the past, and provide a guideline for which states do and do not offer specific legislative protection for Revenge Porn victims. He will also highlight the various means available to help victims even in states without specific legislative protection.    

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the various forms of Revenge Porn and how the nature of the material affects legal strategy
2. Review which states have Revenge Porn laws in place and what lawyers can do for clients in states without such laws
3. Discuss different legal strategies when the victim is being harmed by the publication of an image or video to which they consented or filmed themselves
4. Provide a specific guideline for how to use copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to obtain relief for your clients