By now, many of you know that Charles C. Johnson has taken revenge on "Jackie" for supposedly making up a story about being gang-raped at the University of Virginia in 2012. How? By claiming to reveal her real name, hometown, and address on his blog, GotNews. For good measure, he's trying to make her name a hashtag on Twitter. This is wrong. This is disgusting. And it may be illegal. He's already openly admitted to violating Jackie's privacy by calling her house, and may have also engaged in extortion and reckless endangerment.
There have already been calls for Twitter to suspend his account. But they aren't the only outlets that need to go. His blog, GotNews, is hosted by MediaTemple. I had a hunch his two posts in which he claimed to have revealed Jackie's real name and posted samples of her Pinterest feed were TOS violations. Well, it looks like I was right. From MediaTemple's TOS:
The following represents a partial listing of activities that are prohibited when using the Service, any one of which has the potential to result in account or service suspension or closure without prior or further notice. Without limitation and in no particular order, the Service may NOT be used to host, display, post, propagate, upload, download, transmit, transfer, disseminate, distribute, reproduce, sell, link to nor facilitate access to:
i. Any Content or website that contains material that, in our judgment, is intended to promote illegal activities, is unlawful, threatening, obscene, abusive, harassing, defamatory, slanderous, libelous, hateful or that violates any section of this Agreement;
ii. Any Content or website that contains private or confidential information, including, but not limited to, your or any other person's or party's credit card information, social security number or other national identity number, non-public telephone number, address or email address;
Let's see--threatening to out someone if she doesn't "tell the truth"? Revealing that person's name? Claiming to have called the private phone number of that person's house? Sounds like pretty blatant violations to me. Drop MediaTemple a line at abuse at mediatemple dot com.
I also had a look at the TOS for his domain registrar, GoDaddy.
You will not use this Site or the Services in a manner (as determined by Go Daddy in its sole and absolute discretion) that:
[snip]
Violates the privacy or publicity rights of another User or any other person or entity, or breaches any duty of confidentiality that you owe to another User or any other person or entity;
Yep, seems like Johnson's actions qualify as a violation. Pester GoDaddy at abuse at godaddy dot com.
He's also posted links to those stories on his Facebook page. Head over there and report it.
Johnson has gone way too far this time. Let's make him pay for it--and stand up for Jackie.