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Revenge-porn website operator wants his own photos taken down, blasts media 'shame narratives'

The operator of a now-defunct revenge-porn website has filed a takedown request with Google that contends his own photo and unauthorized information are being used without his permission in stories about his settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The Washington Post sees karma in the takedown request by Craig Brittain, who solicited women’s nude photos, posted them on his website, and charged fees of $200 to $500 to remove the images. In his settlement with the FTC, Brittain agreed to destroy the photos and to refrain from running any revenge-porn websites. (The FTC had alleged unfair business practices, the Washington Post reported here.)

The Post credits Ars Technica with discovering Brittain’s takedown notice. It asks Google to delete 23 links to online accounts of the FTC action, citing “unauthorized use of photos of me and other related information.” The URLs he targets take readers to an FTC press release, FTC files, and articles by news websites and blogs.

Some websites are accused of copying excerpts from his former website, isanybodydown.com. Four appear to use a photo of Brittain that he apparently took himself, which would give him the copyright, the Post says. Others used a 2003 mugshot, which is included in the Post story about the takedown request.

Brittain sees a link between journalism and revenge porn, the Post says. “I strongly believe that the Mainstream Media uses revenge and shame narratives to exploit people and ruin their lives – not unlike what ‘Revenge Porn’ does,” he wrote in a January open letter.