The “Most Hated Man On The Internet” is facing charges in the United States after one mother launched an unrelenting two-year campaign against his “revenge porn” site.
According to The Observer, Hunter Moore, founder of isanyoneup.com, is facing charges in the United States thanks to mother Charlotte Laws.
Moore’s site allowed people to anonymously submit naked photos of themselves — but also explicit photos and videos of former lovers without their permission.
These photos were often accompanied by identifying details including names and addresses. It also allegedly published photos gained though hacking people’s computers.
Laws began a two-year investigation into Moore’s activities in 2012 and spent weeks tracking down his victims.
She compiled evidence from more than 40 victims all over the world, and then led the FBI to his home.
In January he was indicted, along with co-accused Charlie Evens, for conspiracy, unauthorised access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.
If convicted he faces up to 42 years in prison.
Laws’s campaign began when her daughter Kayla, then 24, had a topless photo of herself published online, along with her name, location and Facebook and Twitter usernames.
Kayla had taken the photo on her phone and had emailed it to her computer but had not shown it to anyone. The photo only emerged after her email and Facebook were hacked.
“It was embarrassing and humiliating and all her friends knew and the picture was passed around her workplace. It just … kind of circulates, you know?” Laws said.
Kayla was one of many victims isanyoneup.com. Some of the photos on the site, which has now been taken down, were self-submitted but others, like Kayla’s, were not.
Many came from ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends seeking to humiliate their former partners, and have compromised their jobs and reputations.
Ms Laws said she wrote letters to Moore, his attorney, his hosting service, Facebook and his internet security company to get Kayla’s photo taken down but was unsuccessful.
She also contacted Los Angeles police and they “basically said Kayla shouldn’t have taken the photo.” It was only removed after she rang the FBI.
“If a hacker hadn’t been involved, there would have been no case to answer and the site would still be up. But because there was, they took it seriously,” Ms Laws said.
Kayla said her photo was taken down because of one thing: “they messed with the wrong mom.”
Having connected with other victims of the site, Laws decided to continue to pursue justice.
“I’m not an emotional person, but I found myself in tears talking to these women,” Laws said.
“They were traumatised. I was only contacting the women who had been uploaded on to the site in the day or two before or after Kayla, so a lot of them didn’t even know. I had to break it to them and they were freaking out.”
Laws is hoping her two-year investigation will see the site’s owners convicted and has also joined the board of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, which is working on draft legislation for anti-revenge bills in 22 states and pushing for a new federal law.
“I’m always thinking about the next thing I can do. The next politician to try. It is very, very important that this is recognised as a criminal offence and that the law is changed,” Laws said.
This article originally appeared in news.com.au.