Woman Sues Yahoo Over Nude Photos Posted On Internet

For $3 million, alleging they failed to fulfill a promise to remove pics

[christopher w]

From the AP

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A woman sued Yahoo Inc. for $3 million, alleging the Internet site failed to fulfill a promise to remove nude pictures of her from the Web.

Cecilia Barnes, 48, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Multnomah County, claims an ex-boyfriend began posting unauthorized personal profiles of her containing the photos in December. The profiles included her e-mail address and work phone number.

The former boyfriend also engaged in online discussions in Yahoo chat rooms while posing as Barnes and directing men to the profiles, the lawsuit claims.

"Due to these profiles and online chats, unknown men would arrive without warning at plaintiff's work expecting to engage in sexual relations with her," the lawsuit claims.

Barnes sent Yahoo a letter in January saying she did not create the profiles and wanted them removed. Additional attempts to get Yahoo to remove them in February and March did not get a response, the lawsuit claims.

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the company does not comment on pending litigation.

If this lady wins (stranger and less likely cases have) will this open up a can of worms?

[Essex_boy]

I suspect it will, If its true and Y have been asked to remove them then Im very surprised they havent.

This must be a truly awful time for that poor woman.

[Milamber]

...especially now that this has gone public. People are going to be flocking to those profile pages and her workplace...

[bcolflesh]

I should sue Yahoo too - it took a couple days and hundreds of dollars worth of gasoline for me to drive out there.

[christopher w]

People are going to be flocking to those profile pages

I have a feeling Yahoo! took them down ;)

[Mardi_Gras]

>it took a couple days and hundreds of dollars worth of gasoline for me to drive out there.

Was it worth the trip? ;)

[Matt Probert]

Oh the joys of a litigation culture. The sooner the courts stop taking litigation cases the better for all of us. (It's too easily and frequently abused).

Matt

[lawman]

>>The sooner the courts stop taking litigation cases the better for all of us.

If the parties won't settle, where are they supposed to take their dispute - to the O K Corral?

[zulufox]

That was just what I was thinking.

[Mardi_Gras]

>>The sooner the courts stop taking litigation cases the better for all of us.

I guess she could just shoot her ex (who could be upset with her for that?) - but litigation is probably a more civilized option.

[Milamber]

couldnt she take her ex to court for identity theft and whatever else she can pin on him?

[Essex_boy]

There was a case recently in the UK where a guy did thia and ended up being jailed under the Misuse of computers Act.

im surprised the States doesnt have anything like this in place already.

[walkman]

that jerk who posted the pictures and phone # should be shot...

[christopher w]

The story did not mention whether or not she is also suing him or trying to press charges (identify theft, harrasment, you name it)...

[Lobo]

I think this is more serious than we probably think ATM?

If search engines can be sued for not removing stuff from the internet.. that is pretty much the end of the internet... or at least an excuse for governments to have control over what is released...

It is rediculous, like suing a wall for someone putting a poster of you naked up there.. yet I think we have witnessed historically, that what the courts do in the US is on a plant of it's own, devoid of logic... ;)

[buckworks]

The snippet above didn't specify that they were Yahoo personal profiles, but I'd have to assume that Yahoo is being sued as *host* of the disputed content.

Yahoo as a search engine is a side issue here.

[walkman]

"If search engines can be sued for not removing stuff from the internet.. that is pretty much the end of the internet... or at least an excuse for governments to have control over what is released..."

slightly different, no? Her pictures were online and he was saying to strangers "come and have s&x with me" in her name. We're talking life and death here, and if Y! didn't act, they deserve to lose.

[christopher w]

Supposedly the guy created free profiles with her picture/info in them. These are the things Yahoo! gives you when you sign up for anything with them. He then went in chat rooms as "her" and directed guys to "her" free profile. From what it seems like - he took it further and made the guys think that they were going to hook-up and directed them to her job...

Guys show up - she freaks out - she then realizes what is going on and send Yahoo a letter in January saying she did not create the profiles and wanted them removed. They ignore her - she makes additional attempts to get Yahoo to remove them in February and March but did not get a response. She sues...

[smellystudent]

I'm thinking that she should be sueing the ex... but he doesn't have $3mil to give her. Follow the money...