Article contents
Law, Privacy, and Online Dating: “Revenge Porn” in Gay Online Communities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2019
Abstract
Nonconsensual pornography, commonly known as “revenge porn,” is the dissemination of another’s sexually explicit images or videos without their consent. This article explores this phenomenon in gay and bisexual male online communities. The first part reviews the current sociological and legal literature on online dating, gay culture on the Internet, and revenge porn. Then, based on a survey of gay and bisexual male dating app users, ethnographic interviews, and an analysis of platform content moderation policies, the next part makes three related points. First, it shows that gay and bisexual men who use geosocial dating apps are more frequently victims of revenge porn than both the general population and the broader lesbian, gay, and bisexual community. Second, it shows that geosocial dating apps create powerful norms of disclosure that make sharing personal information all but required. And third, it describes how gay and bisexual male users engage in privacy navigation techniques with the goal of building trust and enhancing safety. The final substantive section then shows how inadequate protections for online privacy and inadequate legal incentives for safe platform design contribute to the problem of revenge porn. The article concludes with a summary and avenues for future research.
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Copyright
- © 2019 American Bar Foundation
Footnotes
The author would like to thank Danielle Keats Citron, Mary Anne Franks, Andrew Santa Ana, Elisa D’Amico, Luke Boso, Scott Skinner-Thompson, Kate Klonick, Amanda Levendowski, and Paul Schwartz. Maverick James provided essential research assistance. This article was presented as the 11th Deirdre G. Martin Memorial Lecture on Privacy at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. The research was supported by a New York Law School Summer Research Grant and was approved by the New York Law School IRB.
References
REFERENCES
CASES CITED
STATUTES CITED
- 35
- Cited by