{"id":301818,"date":"2021-07-17T16:07:18","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T13:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-the-internet-stole-my-face-then-used-it-to-sell-porn\/"},"modified":"2021-07-17T16:07:18","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T13:07:18","slug":"how-the-internet-stole-my-face-then-used-it-to-sell-porn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-the-internet-stole-my-face-then-used-it-to-sell-porn\/","title":{"rendered":"#’How the internet stole my face \u2014 then used it to sell porn’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#’How the internet stole my face \u2014 then used it to sell porn’<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

Karen Hepp was just a normal Manhattan mom, running into a bodega for a quick gallon of milk \u2014 or maybe it was a cup of coffee or loaf of bread. She doesn\u2019t actually remember what she was buying, or the name of the store, or even the date it happ<\/a>ened \u201caround 15 years ago.\u201d That\u2019s how innocuous the stop was.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the married mom of three had her life ruined by that bodega visit when the store\u2019s security footage \u2014 showing Hepp standing near what her lawyer said is the front counter \u2014 ended up all over the Internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy face has been in ads for a dating app and an erectile dysfunction medicine; it also appeared on an overseas porn site,\u201d Hepp, 50, told The Post. \u201cI\u2019m embarrassed and so are my kids. This is a punch to the gut that made me feel sick to my stomach.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hepp\u2019s bodega picture ended up on Facebook<\/a> in an ad for a dating app and on porn sites, including xnxx.com. In another, her face appeared with the tagline: \u201cThese mothers f\u2013k for free.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea how [the photo] went from a security camera to ads on the Internet,\u201d said Hepp, who was formerly the co-anchor of \u201cGood Day Wake Up\u201d in NYC and now holds a similar on-air position with the Fox News<\/a> affiliate in Philadelphia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Karen
Morning-TV co-anchor Hepp took Big Tech to court, targeting Section 230, which protects Web sites from litigation. <\/figcaption>
Rachel Wisniewski for NY Post <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Samuel Fineman, the Cherry Hill, NJ, attorney who represents Hepp, has an idea. \u201cKaren was cashing out and the security camera was looking down,\u201d the lawyer told The Post. \u201cMy theory is that an associate in the store recognized her from TV and isolated her picture. Somehow, it wound up on the Web for nefarious purposes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shockingly, there is very little that Hepp \u2014 or anyone else this happens to \u2014 can do about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blame it on Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1996, legislators enacted Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. At its most basic, the provision supplies immunity for Web sites if a third-party \u2014 such as an advertiser or commenter \u2014 uploads content that can be considered libelous, obscene or offensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, if someone on Facebook posts libelous comments \u2014 or an advertiser appropriates someone\u2019s image without authorization \u2014 Facebook is not responsible for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBack when the Internet was an incipient technology<\/a>, in 1996, the US Congress thought that Internet publishers should be protected from lawsuits [arising from third-party content] so that sites could thrive,\u201d said Fineman. \u201cFacebook was fledgling and there was no Reddit. Now we\u2019re in another universe and that ruling still holds up \u2014 even though it makes no sense with the influence and wealth of Internet companies and the sophistication of reverse-search technology for images.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Karen
Hepp\u2019s bodega closeup (left) appeared in ads for online dating (right) and even pornography \u2014 but getting the image off the Internet has proven to be a costly battle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reverse search is a tool that allows anyone to use an image \u2014 instead of words \u2014 as a search-engine query and find examples of that image on the Web.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump have spoken out against Section 230, especially as it applies to Big Tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In January 2020, Biden told The New York Times: \u201cSection 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one. For Zuckerberg and other platforms,\u201d Biden said, calling out Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. \u201cIt should be revoked because [Facebook] is not merely an Internet company. It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

My face has been in ads for a dating app and erectile dysfunction. (It\u2019s) a punch to the gut.<\/p>\n

Karen Hepp, on her stolen identity<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Citizens can, ostensibly, stop a site from using unauthorized images as they pertain to copyright or intellectual property for three reasons: defamation, invasion of privacy or violation of right of publicity for commercial exploitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hepp and Fineman built their lawsuit around that last one, claiming that the photo was being used for \u201cprurient and illicit purposes\u201d without Hepp\u2019s permission. \u201cThe cornerstone of the suit is that her photo is being used for commercial purposes \u2014 to sell products or to benefit the sites,\u201d the lawyer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only security-camera feeds that can turn private people into public promoters against their will.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2012, the actress Alicyn Packard accused Moet Hennessy of misappropriating her likeness from a dramatic online video that she and her friends made. Packard landed in a Web ad, for Moet-owned Belvedere Vodka, with a smiling actor grabbing her from behind, wrapping an arm around her upper torso as she looks panicked. The ad\u2019s headline read, \u201cUnlike some people \u2014 Belvedere always goes down smoothly.\u201d Packard filed a lawsuit<\/a>. Moet Hennesy took down the ad and Belvedere posted an apology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mark
Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s Facebook and others aren\u2019t liable for user content.<\/figcaption>
AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More recently, Edward Kelly, a New Jersey man who posed for a joke-selfie fanning hundred dollar bills, found himself allegedly depicted as a pimp in an ad on Pornhub after a friend posted the shot on social media. Fineman, on behalf of Kelly, sued Pornhub. The case is recorded as voluntarily dismissed (sometimes the public outcome for cases that get discreetly settled.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fineman believes that unless Section 230 is changed, such incidents will occur with increased frequency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting worse because Web sites are becoming more emboldened each day,\u201d said Fineman. \u201cSection 230 has evolved into a shield that protects Web sites at the cost of individuals whose lives get violated. Often, [the people] don\u2019t even know that their faces are being used.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\"Edward
Edward Kelly sued Pornhub after a joke selfie of him posing with a fan of money ended up in an ad on the site allegedly depicting him as a pimp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It was in 2018 when Hepp\u2019s colleagues at Fox recognized her gracing a Facebook ad for a dating app. \u201cA manager called me and said that several co-workers saw me,\u201d recalled Hepp. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it. I had to explain something that I found inexplicable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, the same shot even found its way to a Web site called Giphy, which specializes in posting GIFs and animated stickers. On that site, an animated man was shown to be standing behind her and masturbating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was all the more damaging due to Hepp\u2019s on-air image. \u201cMy role on \u2018Good Day Philadelphia\u2019 is to be a person who is part of the audience\u2019s family,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hepp\u2019s manager at the Philly station tried to help her. \u201cObviously, the pictures were appropriated, but they were impossible to stop. [The Fox affiliate\u2019s] legal department couldn\u2019t do it. Nor could the tech people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She reached out to the sites directly, requesting that her image be removed, but those efforts were fruitless. The process, she said, \u201cis not intuitive. It\u2019s complicated to file a complaint and to get the pictures taken down. Nobody gets back to you. The conversation is kept online.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Frustrated, she turned to Fineman. In February 2020 he filed a $10 million lawsuit against Facebook, Reddit (where her picture was shared by users of a fetish group), Imgur (a photo-sharing platform on which her image was categorized under the heading \u201cMILF\u201d) and other sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it is impossible to definitively pin down how Hepp wound up as an online face, Alan Butler, executive director of Electronic Privacy Information Center, believes that her celebrity as a TV newscaster contributed to the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In
In 2012, actress Alicyn Packard accused Moet Hennessy of misappropriating a video she made with friends as an ad for Belvedere Vodka.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are odds that someone who ran the store captured the image, posted it online and wrote something like, \u2018Look who was in my store, the lady from \u2018Good Day Wake Up,\u2019\u2009\u201d Butler told The Post. \u201cHe could have pushed it out on a user-generated social media site. From there, her picture could have been lifted by an entity that does online advertising. Web sites sell real estate on their sites and that real estate gets filled with click-baity ads from shadowy companies that drive traffic to legitimate businesses. It could have been one of those.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Third Circuit Court, which holds sway in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the US Virgin Islands, was unsympathetic to Hepp\u2019s dilemma. It cited Section 230 and ruled in favor of the sites as well as their advertisers. While all defendants named in the suit have taken down Hepp\u2019s photo, it is not necessarily gone forever. As Fineman told The Post of efforts to keep the shot from popping up elsewhere on the Web, \u201cIt\u2019s like a game<\/a> of whack-a-mole.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Karen
Hepp may have been targeted because she is a public figure \u2014 but her nightmare could happen to anyone.<\/figcaption>
Rachel Wisniewski for NY Post <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Fineman and Hepp are not giving up. And they now have the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA on their side as the case moves into a second phase via the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The unions that represent performers are rallying behind Hepp. An amicus brief filed by SAG\u2019s lawyers states, \u201cThe very cornerstone of [performers\u2019] careers is their ability to exploit their rights .\u2009.\u2009. [to promote] often very valuable assets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hepp, 50, explained: \u201cAll things are monetizable these days, and this affects everybody in the entertainment industry. I built my brand on who I am. This can hurt me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the potential financial repercussions and ongoing personal heartache of this nightmare, Hepp has found comfort from concerned pals as well as strangers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become a public issue and everyone knew I couldn\u2019t stop it,\u201d she said. \u201cEven viewers think it\u2019s wrong. In fact, I\u2019ve received support from all over. After hearing about the case, three people wrote me the same thing: \u2018You go, girl!\u2019 \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just limited to those in the entertainment business. The Hollywood Reporter maintains<\/a> that thousands of mostly anonymous individuals launch suits against social-media sites each year to try and control unauthorized images and potentially libelous language used against them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Hepp said: \u201cThis whole thing is dumbfounding.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#’How the internet stole my face \u2014 then used it to sell porn’” Karen Hepp was just a normal Manhattan mom, running into a bodega for a quick gallon of milk \u2014 or maybe it was a cup of coffee or loaf of bread. She doesn\u2019t actually remember what she was buying, or the name…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":301819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/The-Internet-Stole-My-Face-Karen-Hepp.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[112110,74490,4974,48,70923],"class_list":["post-301818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-17-21","tag-ads","tag-facebook","tag-internet","tag-porn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}