Last weekend, the online community was stunned by the sudden mass release of over two hundred hacked celebrity photos that were posted on 4chan. The release created numerous debauched reactions on social media and from online users.
The hacked celebrity photos were allegedly taken through a feat of iCloud to which iPhone photos can be synced automatically. iCloud is storage and computing service from Apple Inc. that allows the users to store data and applications on remote computer servers. The service also acts as a data syncing center for documents, photos, emails and other data.
The alleged celebrities who were victims of the daring act include Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Ariana Grande, Victoria Justice, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rihanna, Jenny McCarthy and Kate Upton. The hacked celebrity photos were purportedly sold for bitcoin. The authenticity of the photos was denied by Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jennifer Lawrence confirmed the pictures.
The hacked celebrity photos were also posted on reddit, anon-ib and tumblr. After the initial release of the photos, they were then widely circulated online. Various attempts were made to sojourn and suppress the spread however it was unsuccessful.
The website, Reddit was criticized for allowing a major activity of sharing the hacked celebrity photos which gained over 70,000 subscriptions in a single day. Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton was critiqued after posting the photos on his blog but later deleted the pictures and apologized for what he did.
Prior to its mass release on August 31, the hacked celebrity photos were being shared privately for at least a couple of weeks. There were also assertions that many more photos including videos that were unreleased but exists.
The hacked celebrity photos that were leaked were condemned by numerous online sites and social media. The Guardian also condemned those who continued to share the pictures. Actors Seth Rogen and Lucas Neff also spoke against the hackers and the people responsible for the widespread of the photos. Actress Lena Dunham appealed on social media site, Twitter, not to view the pictures and stop violating the women through looking at the photos over and over again.
The incident was trivialized and has been given many names. However, The Daily Telegraph journalist, Radhika Sanghani criticized the naming to describe the incident and that it should be taken seriously.
Apple Inc. and the FBI are currently investigating the incident. Jennifer Lawrence sought the help of the authorities to prosecute anyone who posts leaked photos of her. Apple Inc. said that it is investigating whether an iCloud service security breach was responsible for the leaked photos and that they take user privacy very seriously.
In line with the incidents, users should take precautionary measures on posting and storing sensitive and personal photos or data on their devices. We should be responsible so that he or she won't be victimized by such exploitations. Celebrity or not, each of us are entitled for our rights of privacy.
Social media and online users are hopeful that the widespread hacked celebrity photos will stopped and justice shall be given to the victims and lawful punishments will be awarded to those who are greatly responsible for the act.
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