The consequences of a free web?

We wanted an internet free from oversight, an environment where ideas could be exchanged freely. In many important ways, the web has achieved that idyllic vision. Individuals have the ability to communicate with large audiences, a power that in the past belonged only to media tycoons and governments. A lack of gatekeepers means frictionless communication, but it also means the quality of that communication can’t be controlled. And too often on the internet today, no consequence means no class. The internet experience is being degraded by those bent on settling scores, intimidating enemies, or simply silencing those with whom they disagree. The social networks say they’re powerless to stop it. Police say they’re overwhelmed. For these reasons, many people find the web a hostile and dangerous environment.

Online harassment can take many forms. Consider the message sent to African-Americans by "Trayvoning." That’s the meme that caught on after the death of Trayvon Martin, the teenager who was stalked and killed in Florida last year. People recreated scenes of Martin's death and posted photos to the web. Some of the pics show teenage boys and girls lying on a floor wearing hoodies and holding bags of Skittles — the confection Martin carried at the time of his death. Some even wore blackface. In 2010, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers student, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge in New York City after his roommate used a webcam to secretly record him kissing another man. Clementi’s roommate then wrote about the scene on Twitter. While minorities and homosexuals are often targeted, experts say no group is more abused online than women.

Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Maryland, lays out some of the numbers in her upcoming book, Hatred 3.0. Citron writes that the US National Violence Against Women Survey reports 60 percent of cyberstalking victims are women. A group called Working to Halt Online Abuse studied 3,787 cases of cyberharassment, and found that 72.5 percent were female, 22.5 percent were male and 5 percent unknown. A study of Internet Relay Chat showed male users receive only four abusive or threatening messages for every 100 received by women.

"Things are getting worse because these technologies are going with us wherever we go," Citron said. "They’re ubiquitous. We take our cellphones and tablets to work out, to restaurants, while we’re out in the country. It’s getting worse because [online harassment] is a simple, easy, and effective way to hurt someone."

And what people want today is "to hurt one another" and "get back at the people that hurt them," Hunter Moore, the founder of IsAnyoneUp.com, told Rolling Stone last October. Moore ought to know. He’s one of the pioneers of revenge porn, the practice of posting nude photos to the web of a former lover in an attempt to embarrass, defame, and terrorize. Moore has sold his site but scores of wannabes are cropping up. A check of these sites shows that victims are almost always women.

Experts say no group is more abused online than women

At Myex.com over 1,000 nude photos and new pictures are added nearly every day. Each post typically includes the name of the person photographed, their age, and the city they live in. The posts come with titles like, "Manipulative Bitch," "Cheater," "Has genital warts," "Drunk," "Meth User," "This girl slept with so many other guys," and "Filthy Pig."

Skeptics question the authenticity of the photos. They claim operators of revenge-porn sites use actresses or that those photographed are seeking attention. The Verge contacted several women found on some of these sites, including Myex.com. While all of them declined to be interviewed, they did acknowledge that the photos were posted without permission by an ex-boyfriend or lover. One woman said that she was trying to get the pictures pulled down and had successfully removed them from other sites because she was not yet 18 years old when they were taken (if her claim is accurate it would make the snapshots child pornography). She pleaded that we not use her name and asked that we not contact her again.

Social networks say they're powerless to stop it

If the woman was upset and afraid, she has a right to be, says Holly Jacobs, 30, who has started a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending revenge porn and supporting its victims. Jacobs knows firsthand that these sites are killers of reputations and relationships. Three years ago, Jacobs was studying for her PhD in industrial organizational psychology and working as a consultant at a university when a former boyfriend began posting nude photos of her online. The embarrassment and terror was just the beginning. Jacobs’ ex sent copies of the photos to her boss and suggested she was sexually preying on students. Jacobs’ employers, fearing bad press, asked her to prove she didn’t upload the photos herself. She finally felt compelled to change her name (Jacobs is the new name). The low point came at her parent’s house, when Jacobs’ mother told her she had seen the pictures. She called them "disgusting." Seething, she asked her daughter if she intended to become a porn star.

Jacobs asked herself: "Where was the justice?" In high school, she was an honors student and captain of the swim team. She played the piano, spoke fluent French, was never in trouble at school or with the law. Now, society was telling her that she had committed the unpardonable crime of being a sexual woman, that sex is still only acceptable for men. "The discussion with my mom was the first time in my life I had suicidal thoughts," Jacobs said. "I was losing everything that I had built: my relationships, my good standing at the university, my education that I worked my butt off for … We all do these things when we’re young, but it shouldn’t ruin our lives."