A federal court ordered that revenge porn site MyEx.com be permanently shut down and that its operators pay more than $2 million after finding they violated federal and state laws by posting sexually explicit images of people and their personal information without consent and then charged a ‘take down’ fee.
In a complaint filed in January at U.S. District Court in Carson City, the FTC and Nevada alleged that MyEx.com dedicated solely to revenge porn and solicited intimate pictures and videos of victims, along with their personal information such as their name, address, employer and social media account information.
The site, urged visitors to “add your ex,” and to “submit pics and stories of your ex.” In some instances, the defendants allegedly charged victims fees from $499 to $2,800 to remove their images and information from the site.
The federal court entered a default judgment and ordered the defendants — EMP Media and Shad Applegate, also known as Shad Cottelli — to pay more than $2 million.
In addition, the court granted the FTC’s request to permanently ban the defendants from posting intimate images and personal information of others on a website without notice and consent.