Online sites let revenge porn spread like house fire, TV star tells MPs
LOVE Island contestant Georgia Harrison has blasted online platforms that allowed a revenge porn video of her having sex to spread at the speed of a “house fire”.
Stephen Bear – a former Celebrity Big Brother winner – walked out of prison in January after serving 10½ months of his 21-month sentence for sharing the film of them together without her consent.
Georgia, 29, told MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee that the video “went viral to a point I can’t explain” as it spread on multiple porn websites and WhatsApp.
She said: “It absolutely horrified me that an individual had done this to me but what most horrified me was that these platforms were hosting these videos that were unconsented.
“For many that I tried to reach out to I got an automated response saying we will get back to you within four to six days.
“When something like this is happening, it really is like a house fire, and the quicker you can put it out, the quicker you can stop it. Unfortunately, in four to six days your house has burnt down, everyone knows about this video – your family, your workplace, your peers, it’s too late.” The video of the then-couple was captured on Bear’s home CCTV unit and shared to OnlyFans without Georgia’s knowledge.
Bear, 34, was jailed in March last year after being found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress. In March this year he was ordered to pay the state the £22,305 he made from sharing the video. Georgia, who was awarded £207,900 in damages, is now an anti-revenge porn campaigner and has recalled her ordeal in an ITV documentary.
She told MPs the stress landed her in hospital for five days, saying: “I ended up having a cyst burst and I got an infection and literally it was just like my body deteriorated with my emotions.”
She added: “One of the biggest challenges is these big social media companies who are hosting pornographic images and videos.
“They don’t have any way of us getting through to them to report it when there is something unconsented there. It shouldn’t be robots that you get through to when it’s this important a situation, it shouldn’t be that hard to get through to someone. I’m not saying delete it, I’m not saying take this person’s account down, I’m just saying can we pause it and then review it in a few weeks, and I think that is the biggest issue.
“Then, they could go back and review it and if whoever is in it hasn’t consented, it will never go back up, but if after review both people have consented, the footage is still there to get put back on the platform.
“But I think if something gets to the level where you say this is me in a sexually explicit act and I have not given permission, it should be paused that day, not in four to six days.”
For advice on getting explicit online material removed, call the Revenge Porn Helpline on 0345 6000 459.