Craig Brittain, who gained infamy for running an alleged "revenge porn site," is asking Google to remove photos of him on the internet, in view of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Social media users and the rest of the netizens are citing irony in Brittain's move.
A snippet of Brittain's takedown notice on chillingeffects.org mentions "unauthorized use of photos of me and other related information," as well as "unauthorized copying of excerpts from isanybodydown.com."
Brittain wants Google to stop linking to 23 specific Web pages, which he claims to be in violation of his rights. For this, Twitter users are reacting with hashtags like #irony and #karma.
"This Craig Brittain story is just... really, it's the most delicious karma I've ever seen," Twitter user @cyndyaleo commented.
"Craig Brittain, soon to be the human most known for wanting to be unknown. Sweet, sweet irony," said @aditheadipose.
"(S)o far today I have infringed Craig Brittain's copyright by posting his mugshot and violated his fourth amendment rights by googling him," @adamsteinbaugh tweeted.
The "revenge porn site" is a virtual shame website where nude photos and videos of people in broken relationships are posted, among others. The Federal Trade Commission has banned Brittain from continuing the site's operations.
"This behavior is not only illegal but reprehensible," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, was quoted in an FTC release. "I am pleased that as a result of this settlement, the illegally collected images and information will be deleted, and this individual can never return to the so-called 'revenge porn' business."
Brittain allegedly created a scheme in which individuals could have their photos or videos removed for $200 to $500. The "revenge porn site" was known among the haters, the dumped, and other internet users who wanted to humiliate certain individuals.