Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

internet pictures

a few months ago, i had sent risque pictures in confidence to a friend. after realizing nothing would become of us, he proceeded to make a slideshow of these pictures and make a website. he then sent them to all of my myspace friends. now since i sent them in confidence, those are without my consent. do i have a case?


Asked on 11/02/06, 11:24 am

5 Answers from Attorneys

J. Cohen InternetLitigators

Re: internet pictures

If what you are looking for is to have currently posted photos removed, you may be able to get the materials removed under a properly formulated UDRP demand. This would need to come from the owner of the images which is likely whomever took them of you. If your "potential defendant" took them he may in fact own them.

If you are interested in monetary damages and are not a celebrity or otherwise in a situation where the photos have any great value I would have to agree with the advice posted by others as the cost would likely be prohibitive. Good Luck.

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Answered on 11/07/06, 1:31 pm
David Lupoff Law Offices of David B. Lupoff

Re: internet pictures

I have seen this before on Lawguru. Yes, you might have a cause of action for the invasion of privacy. However, does this guy have assets? If not, this matter may not be worth pursuing.

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Answered on 11/06/06, 8:01 pm
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: internet pictures

You might pursue this with the powers that be at Myspace. Tell them in writing (keep a copy) it's an invasion of your privacy, and that you request that they take the page down.

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Answered on 11/06/06, 8:28 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: internet pictures

Let's see: you posted porno pictures to a 'friend', who then used them to embarrass you. Sure, you can claim invasion of privacy, etc, but I wouldn't suggest you invest a lot of money in a lawsuit, as you are certainly not assured of winning, and I doubt the 'friend' has assets worth enough to make the case worthwhile financially. You can try to get the ISP to remove the webpage, but your 'friend' can bounce them all over the net, with you trailing behind complaining to each succeeding ISP. Your lesson is to not have created the problem to start with.

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Answered on 11/06/06, 8:53 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: internet pictures

Yes. As others have pointed out, a traditional lawsuit may be rather pointless if your friend has no assets from which to pay a judgment.

Another option you have -- which you can pursue either along with or instead of a suit for damages -- is to seek a restraining order preventing him from further distributing the photos. You would have a strong case, but you would have to pay your own legal fees since winning won't get you any money from the defendant.

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Answered on 11/06/06, 11:11 pm


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