In the age of all things digital, it is fair to say that we must be held accountable for our actions and behaviour in the virtual world and the digital consequences should match those in the real world. Unsolicited lewd photos have been an issue ever since the first instant messaging app (or how they used to call it back then: programme) was introduced. Fast forward to 2019 and it's omnipresent on social media with thousands of pornography photos or "nudes" shared every minute without the receiver's consent. As much as we try to stay gender neutral, statistics show that this type of behaviour has been deemed acceptable amongst men. James Fridman - the man behind the funniest photoshop edits that you stumble upon so often across the internets has teamed up with Bumble CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd on a mission to criminalize unsolicited nudes.
A few days ago James Fridman posted a video where a girl named Ellie asks Fridman to teach the guy who has sent her an unsolicited d*ck pic a good lesson. James, responded in style, with a video of a yellow tipper truck unloading a bunch of eggplants and peaches onto the guy. Rounding it all up with a ginormous eggplant falling from the sky at the very end and a caption "He's in for a good treat". We all know what does the eggplant and the peach symbolize on social media, so no need to expand on that...
This video appears to be produced by Fridman to support the criminalization of unsolicited lewd photos, lead by Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Austin-based Bumble, who has, for the greater part of a year been on a mission to clean up not just her own online dating platform--Bumble already prohibits nudity, guns, pornography, drugs, and even racy-slash-lame mirror selfies--but also the internet at large.
"Right now, the internet is the Wild Wild West. It's ridiculous that there is no accountability online for things you are not allowed to do in the real world," said Wolfe Herd. "We are trying to make a law for indecent exposure, but for the digital realm."
A bill was introduced Thursday in the Texas House of Representatives that would make sending an unsolicited nude or sexual photograph a misdemeanor punishable with a fine up to $500. The state has a woman startup founder to thank for putting the spotlight on so-called cyber-flashing.
Texas House Bill 2789 would make sending, without express permission, photographs of sexual acts or intimate parts--even if clothed but highly visible through clothing--subject to being charged with a Class C misdemeanor. While that's not a jailable offense, it could lead to fines of up to $500 per incident. As written and if passed, the bill would take effect September 1, 2019.
This campaign, so far, received mixed responses with half of the commentators stating that the "cyber-flashing" should be made illegal with all the following consequences, and the other disagreeing with the bill, stating that "this will give way for more false accusations"
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