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On Friday morning, users across the internet were greeted with nude photos of Golden State Warriors star and former NBA MVP Stephen Curry, along with his wife, Ayesha Curry.
Not much is known about the set of photos or where they originated from, but if they were hacked and uploaded without the Currys’ consent, they would almost certainly violate laws against revenge porn.
Let’s get to some questions about what we know, what laws may have been violated, and what happens from here.
What happened now?
Nude photos of Warriors star Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry, were uploaded to the Internet on Friday morning, and then shared widely across social media, especially Twitter.
Like, right on Twitter?
Right on Twitter.
The unedited photos?
Yes. Before many of us had our coffee.
Oh. Is this a crime?
Almost certainly. Unless the Currys themselves uploaded these photos, or gave their expressed permission to upload the photos (both extremely doubtful), this would almost certainly violate revenge porn laws.
Does California have one of those laws?
Yes. If it occurred in California, where the Currys live, this is illegal.
Penal Code Section 647(j)(4) says it is illegal to “[distribute] the images, where the victim is identifiable; with the intent to cause serious emotional distress to the victim; and the victim actually suffered such distress.”
The crime is a misdemeanor, with punishment of up to six months in jail, and a fine up to $1,000.
Do we know who did this?
No one has claimed responsibility for it yet.
Has this happened to other celebrities before?
Yes. A few years ago, a group of hackers got into the cell phones of many notable celebrities and then leaked private, explicit photos of them across the internet. Several hackers involved eventually faced jail time.
We will update this post as we learn more.
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