Dutch woman asks court to order Facebook to identify revenge porn perpetrator

A Dutch woman is going to court to try to find out who is responsible for placing a home-made sex film she features in online, RTL says on Monday.

The woman’s lawyer, Thomas van Vugt, says this is the first time the Dutch courts are being asked to order Facebook to hand over information about one of its users. ‘The verdict will be of great importance to other victims,’ he said.

‘The judge has to decide if the privacy of the person behind this sort of fake account is more important than that of the victim. My client has experienced a lot of problems because of the film and her reputation has been ruined,’ Van Vugt is quoted as saying.

The woman’s ex boyfriend has admitted making the film but denies distributing it, RTL says.

The case features in an episode of television programme Internetpesters Aangepakt which will be broadcast on Monday night.

Facebook has already banned what has become known as ‘revenge porn’. Although explicit material is likely to have been banned under the social network’s rules on nudity, its new rules include a ban on ‘images shared in revenge or without permissions from the people in the images.’

Revenge porn has also been made a crime in several places, including Britain, some US states, and France, Business Insider reported earlier this year.