The so-called ‘revenge porn’ site IsAnyoneUp.com has been closed by its owner, with the URL being transferred to anti-bullying group Bullyville.com.
For over a year the blogging site had been encouraging users to upload intimate pictures of ex boy and girlfriends, with their full name and links to their social networking profiles in many cases. The site had an international appeal, including users from the UK. The subjects of the photos, who were included on the site without their permission – and knowledge in some cases – would often face ridicule and attacks through their Facebook or Twitter accounts, leading to many being abandoned or locked.
Hunter Moore (26) of Los Angeles, the site’s original owner, said he’d taken the decision to close, “to stand up for under-age bullying”. It’s not clear if the domain changed hands for money or not, although it was receiving 300k hits per day and generating up to $20,000 per month in advertising revenues. He also used the IsAnyoneUp brand to sell merchandise and promote club nights. Prior to the site’s closure, Moore had additionally planned to launch a mobile app and social network.
Speaking to ABC’s Nightline in the US, Bullyville.com’s founder James McGibney felt Moore had been, “…the No.1 Internet bully out there and we took him down… not a hostile takeover but in a politically correct way.” He also said, “IsAnyoneUp.com served no public good. That is why it is offline.”
Employing four workers to help administer the site, Mr Moore had refused to take down pictures, even if threatened with legal action. For featuring ‘comparison images’ taken from Facebook, in September 2011 IsAnyoneUp.com was served a cease and desist letter by Facebook, threatening Mr Moore with legal action over screengrabs from the networking site.
In response Mr Moore published the letter on his blog, apparently ignored the request and claimed he sent Facebook’s lawyers a picture of his genitals in reply. While Facebook would not comment, its users were prevented from linking to the website, in line with Facebook’s pornography policies.
After the site’s closure McGibney of Bullyville wrote, “There are millions of women and men who are thankful that Isanyoneup.com is no longer online. Lawyers and massive companies have tried unsuccessfully to remove it from the Internet. Bullyville was able to work with Hunter to get this done.”
Moor cited the ‘drama’ of dealing with submitted content involving under-age boys and girls as one of the key reasons for wanting to shut the site. He wrote, “The site was a blessing for me and still is, but I am burned out and I honestly can’t take another under-age kid getting submitted and having to go through the process of reporting it and dealing with all the legal drama of that situation.”
www.IsAnyoneUp.com now redirects to a page on Bullyville.com featuring Mr Moore’s announcement and a statement from Mr McGibney of Bullyville. In his farewell letter, Mr Moore announced a new project named WePartyForACause.net, saying “This will be all about me organizing parties that benefit different charities. These will be some of the largest and craziest parties you will ever see with a percentage of earnings going to a range of causes.”
