Lawyer, Former Victim, Takes On Revenge Porn

When her ex-lover was attempting blackmail using images he had of her, and otherwise causing her so much trouble she had to get a protective order, she couldn’t find a good lawyer who could deal with it, says Brooklyn attorney Carrie Goldberg. So she started her own practice and now specializes in cases of online harassment, sexual assault and blackmail. She’s also made it her business to try to deal more broadly with the social issue of revenge porn – the online posting of explicit images of someone without her or his consent. There has been some progress, she says, thanks in part to some widely publicized cases involving celebrities. Now at least it’s recognized as a legal issue and victims are more likely to feel they can do something about it. But two big issues currently need to be addressed, she says. One is to get all 50 states, and the federal government, to make revenge porn illegal. Currently it is not illegal in more than a dozen states, including New York. The other is to get companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter to take responsibility for – and to be made liable for – what they know is happening on their platforms.