Celebrities threaten Google with $100M lawsuit for failing to remove hacked nude images

Justin Kahn

Posts: 752   +6

It appears that recent celebrity nude leaks were largely due to Apple’s lack of security with iCloud. Many believe, simple, old-school brute force hacks were used to access accounts, but now it looks like Google could be on the hook for millions over the debacle.

Marty Singer, a well known Hollywood lawyer, has recently threatened the search giant with a $100 million lawsuit. Singer apparently represents dozens of celebrities whose scandalous photos were leaked, which may very well include people like Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna and Arianna Grande, among others.

In a letter to Google spotted by Page Six, Singer said the company’s “despicable, reprehensible conduct in not only failing to act expeditiously and responsibly to remove the Images, but in knowingly accommodating, facilitating and perpetuating the unlawful conduct."

The lawyer claims Google’s behavior has lead to the company making millions off the images in question. Singer says despite take down requests being made up to 4 weeks ago, Google has made massive profits off videos and images being hosted on sites like Blogger and YouTube. The letter claims several requests have been sent since the first few but “Google has taken little or no action to stop these outrageous violations.”

Some feel that while the claims against Google seem serious, the legal case may not be as tight as it sounds. Google, like any other internet publishing company, is partly protected from the things its users upload and share. While there may very well be some issues when it comes to the copyright law surrounding these photos, it’s hard to imagine Google specifically avoiding takedown requests for monetary reasons. It is more likely a wider legal issue pertaining to online publishing as a whole. 

You can see the full letter to Google here.

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I keep forgetting that rich & famous people deserve privileged treatment far and above what everyone else does.

How silly of me.
 
Why do theses mutts have nude photos of themselves on their phones in the first place?

Oh, wait, so they'll get hacked and they can ride the publicity wave. Then float in the warm tide of public sympathy.

Then sue Google if their next movie is a flop. Which is the case, more often than not.

It's hard being uber rich and famous! Damned hard, I tell you....:'(
 
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They weren't on the phones... that's the problem. All pity for their violation, but seriously? Keep that off the cloud.
 
Hope the suit goes down in flames. It isn't Google's job to clean up their and Apple's mess.
 
I keep forgetting that rich & famous people deserve privileged treatment far and above what everyone else does.

How silly of me.

Privilege has nothing to do with it. Buy yourself a high-dollar lawyer and you can cause all the same noise these chicks do. Not being able to afford one isn't privilege, it's economics.
 
Quick question:

Saving these nude photos on iCloud is as same as placing your money and gold in the bank (safety deposit locker)?
 
Quick question:

Saving these nude photos on iCloud is as same as placing your money and gold in the bank (safety deposit locker)?
its a box full of photos in a locked abandoned warehouse. Sure its locked but some brute force can get you in pretty easily.

These celebrities have my sympathy, they really do, but it pays to know how the technology you use actually works. Id bet most of the victims hardly understood what iCloud was or what it was doing.
 
They weren't on the phones... that's the problem. All pity for their violation, but seriously? Keep that off the cloud.
And this is why boys and girls, on the eighth day, man invented the hard disc drive. Oh yeah, and don't forget to NOT plug in that funny looking CAT-6 cable.

In any event, I only go looking for photos of people who were both paid, and willing, to have their nude photos published on the internet. Is there something wrong with me?:confused:
 
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This is ridiculous. Are you gonna sue the Interstate for providing the road space that the criminal used when he stole your car??
 
Is it really Google's responsibility? Please tell me there is more to it than that and I'm not understanding something here...
 
I googled for 20 mins to try and find these nude pics. Couldn't find them. If that's not protection by Google, I don't know what is.
 
^
Google images dont have those, but google results show the websites which has them.
 
Google should counter sue the celebs for uploading naked pics to apple.

Some people need to grow up and take responsibility, all of them.
 
Google can't remove those pictures completely because they will be reuploaded again, people have them on their hard drives. These celebrities think they are above everyone else and that Google can do whatever they wish. Who the hell gave them money?
 
Well im happy google is not doing the takedowns. we are not in a country where users are censored and their search results filtered.

if you going sue someone sue the guy that has them on his website but again its the same has above.
 
Way to go. When your 'tasteful art' pics get swiped from your Google cloud account and get plastered all over the internet (because you were too stupid to use a 2 stage verification) then you get some high priced over rated mouthpiece to sue Apple and hope for the best.
 
Google has taken little or no action to stop these outrageous violations.. Can Google sue them back? because all of these outrageous violations caused by their own stu-pidity taking their own nude pictures
 
Correct me if I am woing but I thought Apple said the Icloud was not at fault why does everybody keep saying they are at fault
 
Google can't remove those pictures completely because they will be reuploaded again, people have them on their hard drives. These celebrities think they are above everyone else and that Google can do whatever they wish. Who the hell gave them money?

Google is not storing the pics, so how can they possibly remove them? Look at iCloud.
 
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