Nude Photos Leaked Online: Brett Favre

 The Brett Favre-Jenn Sterger sexting scandal has taken another turn today when  nude pictures, alledgedly those that Brett Favre took of himself and sent via text to sideline reporter Jenn Sterger, were posted by Deadspin.com, a sports news website.

See the Deadspin video that chronicle the progression of the scandal.

Parents May be the Biggest Threat to Online Privacy

According to a study for AVG, a security software company, parents may be creating a digital footprint for their children-starting before birth, with prebirth scans.    The study found that:

1. The average age at which a child acquires an online presence courtesy of their parents is at six months, and by the time they are two 81% of children have some kind of ‘digital footprint’.
2. A third (33%) of children have had images posted online from birth
3. A quarter (23%) of children have even had their pre-birth scans uploaded to the Internet by their parents
4. Seven per cent (7%) of babies have even had an email address created for them by their parents
5. More than 70% of mothers said they posted baby and toddler images online to share with friends and family

The question that parents should ask themselves is if their children will want to have these pictures online (along with any other personal information) as they get older and may be searchable for future friends and potential employers.

Duke University Sex List-Meant For Friend's Eyes Only-Goes Viral

Duke University student, Karen Owens, sparked controversy this week when she posted a list of her sexual encounters and ranked them.  She used the real names and photos of her “subjects” and described the details of the encounter in a PowerPoint presentation.  According to reports, the presentation was emailed and intended for a few girlfriends but was forwarded on and ultimately posted on Jezebel .com.  The story has sparked legal, moral, and privacy debates and has since been covered by many outlets including the New York Times and the Today Show. 

WI District Attorney to Resign over 'Sexting'

District Attorney Ken Kratz from Calumet County resigned apologizing to family for the “embarrassment and shame” after he was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a victim of domestic violence that he was representing. . 

Mr. Kratz used texting and his position to try to start a relationship with the victim and others have since comes forward.

Associated Press Article

Video on Good Morning America

New "Sexting" Law Takes Effect Today in Connecticut

In most states, the sending of sexual images of a minor-even if it’s one minor to another-is considered possession of child pornography, which is a felony.  As in the case of Philip Alpert, this strict guideline has resulted in minors being charged and labeled as sex offenders.


The State of Connecticut is now offering law enforcement another option by creating a new Class A misdemeanor which would keep consenting minors from being convicted of a felony and being forced to add their name to the state’s sex offender registry.

Don’t get Dooced!

Dooced is an internet expression meaning to lose one’s job or position because of “objectionable” posts on your website or blog.  And now, what you are doing online may be easier for your employers to find out because a website called Social Intelligence is here to help them!  According to their website,

Social Intelligence offers nearly real-time surveillance of employees’ online behavior [in which they may] criticize managers or coworkers on a social networking site, post questionable photos on a blog, or regularly update personal sites while on the clock.

So before sending something off to cyberspace just remember that it may land in your employee file. 

Invasion of Privacy Online Results in Suicide at Rutgers University

Rutgers student Tyler Clementi

Rutgers’ freshman, Tyler Clementi, takes his own life after his roommate broadcasted a private sexual encounter between him and another man on the Internet.  Fellow students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, have been charged with invasion of privacy for broadcasting the encounter because it is illegal in NJ to create pornography without the subject’s consent.  This is also being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Woman speaks out about Her Brutal Rape after Her MySpace Pictures are used in a Bogus Craigslist Ad

Sarah, who was brutally attacked because of a bogus ad placed on Craigslist, discussed her ordeal on the Oprah Winfrey Show today.  The Craigslist ad was posted by Jebidiah James Stipe, a former boyfriend, who used her identity and created the ad using pictures- including bikini shots- that were pulled from Sarah’s MySpace page. 


The headline of the ad read “Need an aggressive man with no concern or regard for women. If interested, contact Sarah” and was intended to be used to intent of set-up the fulfillment of a rape fantasy.   


For more info see The Oprah Show website

Catfish Movie Documents a Tale of Online Deception

A New York photographer and filmmaker has an online love affair with someone who may not be what they seem.


Movie Location and Times


Full Story on 20/20 (Spoiler Alert) (Updated 10/7/10)

Photographer Offers Groupon Deal Using Stolen Photographs

A $500 photography package offered for $65 quickly sold out on Groupon generating over $76,000 in revenue.  Afterwards, the photographer was accussed of using photographs pulled from the websites of other photographers and all of the purchases from Groupon were refunded. More.