Indecent photos of celebrities are nothing new, but the recent, involuntary mass-sharing of private photos belonging to female actresses brings several existing issues to the spotlight. We petition that Google removes all search results relating to "leaked nudes" and other private material that was released without the celebrities consent.

Reason 1: Privacy Ethics

"Leaked" photographs are distributed without the person's consent, which means that they are not only a violation of privacy and a form of libel, but also a form of sexual harassment. When a person willingly releases indecent or sexual material of themselves, they are giving consent to the material being viewed by other people, but when the photos are stolen, they are being viewed in private without consent, making the viewer fall under the same category as a "peeping tom."

Reason 2: The Audience

Even if Google does not remove the results entirely, we ask that the links be given a lower priority in searches and removed from other searches entirely. When photos and videos of this nature are leaked, it often means that the celebrities had no intentions of ever releasing them and had made no preparation in regard to their public image. These types of unforseen releases often change public perception of someone; an actor or actress can be seen as a child's rolemodel before the release, then after the release they are instantly be seen as a deviants and sexual icons. Because many of these actors and actresses are stars of Disney and Nickeleodeon productions, minors and parents of minors are more likely to be searching for them, and unwanted nude and pornographic results leads to Google unintentionally soliciting sexual material to minors. We ask that at the very least, generic searches that are just the actor or actresses name have all private and "Not Safe for Work" content filtered out.

Reason 3: Liability

Google, Inc. should be motivated by self-preservation to address these results, because any photo that causes a celebrity to lose money or a contract is grounds for a libel lawsuit, and any party involved in the distribution of these photos is liable to be a target in these suits. By making it easier for these pictures to be found, Google, Inc. is taking an active role in worsening all the problems listed above

The attached picture shows two different Google searches, both for Jennifer Lawrence; the search on the left shows the current search result, and the search on the right shows what we propose the results should look like.