An attorney who claims to represent a wave of celebrities caught up in the latest nude photo scandal appears to be taking aim at Google. Attorney Marty Singer has sent a letter to the tech giant, demanding they remove the offending images or face the possibility of a costly lawsuit.
In the letter, Singer says Google was repeatedly notified of the presence of copyright material owned by his clients, but has failed to “… act expeditiously and responsibly to remove the images.” The Lavely & Singer attorney went on to describe Google’s behavior as “despicable” and “reprehensible.”
Singer is reportedly representing a myriad of female actresses, athletes and models, all of whom were the victims of the ongoing nude photo hacks. As part of his strongly worded letter to Google CEO Larry Page and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, he maintains the company is making massive financial gains from the recent iCloud hacks:
“Google is making millions and profiting from the victimization of women… As a result of your blatantly unethical behavior, Google is exposed to significant liability and both compensatory and punitive damages that could well exceed $100 million.”
In defending Google’s practices, a representative has told the media the company is behaving in a responsible manner, quickly removing images when takedown requests are issued. “The Internet is used for many good things. Stealing people’s private photos is not one of them,” stated the rep.
Personal photos of a number of famous Hollywood stars have steadily trickled onto the Internet, starting in early September. The photos were reportedly stolen from the victims’ iCloud accounts, before materializing on social networking sites 4chan and reddit. All in all, a total of three nude photo leaks – dubbed “The Fappenings” – took place, with celebs allegedly duped by a series of phishing attempts.
Images belonging to Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kaley Cuoco and Mary E. Winstead, among others, made their way onto the web, spreading rapidly through various social networking platforms and search engines.
Singer explains that DMCA notifications were sent out four weeks ago; despite this, he says the images persist online and can be accessed through Google searches, Google+, YouTube and Blogspot. In stark contrast, he commended Twitter for immediately taking action against users who uploaded the raunchy photos, suspending the accounts of offending parties.
The California-based attorney said Google was involved in perpetuating “unlawful conduct,” before arguing that the company’s motto – “Don’t be evil” – was a “sham.”
Singer has not disclosed the names of any of his celebrity clients. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to look into the matter.
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