Craig Brittain: Man Who Profited Posting Nude Pictures Of Unsuspecting Women Gets Mad When Newspapers Publish His Picture

Craig Brittain just got a lesson in karma.

The Colorado-based blogger created the site IsAnybodyDown, which posted stolen nude photos provided by jilted lovers, then blackmailed the victims to get them back off the website.

Now, after being outed as the site’s owner and smacked down by the Federal Trade Commission, Brittain wants others to respect his privacy.

The FTC had accused Brittain on having unfair business practices, ordering him to dismantle the site and never start another revenge porn site. Not long afterward, Brittain filed his own takedown request to Google trying to eliminate a handful of news site that published his picture.

Craig Brittain also seemed to completely misunderstand the concept of journalism, which does not operate like an internet chat room where everyone has the guide of anonymity.

In a bizarre open letter published on the blog, Brittain tried to compare his revenge porn site with real journalism.

“‘Revenge Porn’ is a largely fictionalized narrative. Why is it okay for the mainstream press to display someone’s information in a way that portrays them in a negative light – especially in the case of public figures like Brett Favre and Anthony Weiner, who were, in fact, victims of ‘Revenge Porn’? The mainstream media needs to be held to the same standards. We do not live in a sexist, racist, homophobic, misogynistic ‘rape culture.’ We live in one of the most diverse countries in the entire world (in the United States), where everyone is afforded equal opportunity to succeed based upon their merits.”

As the Washington Post pointed out, Craig Brittain seemed to be suffering from the same misguided notion that others have fallen into when dealing with the internet and privacy. Reporter Caitlin Dewey compared his case to that of Michael Brutsch, the Reddit user known as violentacrez who ran a series of popular but seedy boards in which users shared “upskirt” pictures of women, some of them under the age of 18.

Brutsch was outed in an expose from Gawker, which led to a semi-revolt on Reddit among those who felt Brutsch’s privacy was violated. But others pointed out that the Gawker story was simply journalism in action — shining a light on those who gain notoriety for their actions, where using real names and pictures is a requirement.

But revenge porn blogger Craig Brittain is unlikely to get very far with his battle. Experts say he has no legal grounds for his request.

[Image via Colorado Springs Police Department]