There’s been a lot of recent controversy over the semi-nude pics in Vanity Fair of 15-year-old Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. She claims embarrassment after the fact. My guess is that the Disney execs went ballistic when they saw the “good girl” brand being tarnished.
Her parents should be ashamed for pimping out their daughter for the photos. Is she auditioning to replace Britney Spears as the next train wreck?
If you’ve ever posed for embarrassing photos or videos and then discovered that they’ve been posted online without your permission, you’re not alone. These are typically the result of too much alcohol or trusting a spouse or lover to keep things private.
What should you do?
Approach the website’s owner and ask that the offending material be removed immediately. If the owner refuses, contact the website’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) and make the same request. Unless you’ve signed away your rights on paper, you should be able to make a strong case that you own the copyright to the material, did not give your permission for it to be posted, and that your privacy has been invaded.
You should also consult at least one attorney to protect your legal rights (if you’re married to the person who posted the material, you’ll probably want to see a divorce attorney in addition to an Internet lawyer).
Unless your name and contact details are attached online to the offending material, there’s a good chance that what is personally embarrassing to you won’t really hurt you over the long-term.
Why? A Google image search for “porn” produces 33.4 million results. What happened to you is a needle in this online haystack. It is very unlikely that those who know you will ever see the content.
Remember that prevention is the key in most of these cases. This means: (1) don’t ever agree to pose for the videos or photos under any circumstances – even if you trust the person who wants to create them; and (2) if you already have posed for pics or videos you don’t want online, destroy them now to ensure they will never be posted on the Internet.
