Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last two weeks, you’ve heard about the not-so-modest celebrity photos that were leaked to the public over Labor Day weekend. Kate Upton, Jennifer Lawrence and Kirsten Dunst were three of the many celebrities whose nude photos were posted to the Internet as a result of a tragic iCloud security breech.
Reactions to the photos varied widely; there was your boyfriend’s, “What? Nude photos? Where were they? Not that I want to look…” the, “Seriously, Apple? Are people going to see those embarrassing mirror selfies I took on Christmas now?” or the more critical, “Take the nudes, take the hit—I feel no sympathy.”
As the “naked truth” made its way through the grapevine, articles voicing the opinion of men, women, and jealous hackers everywhere began to overpower every web page from the New York Times to Cosmopolitan Magazine.
On one end, Apple has begun to take action toward fortifying their line of iCloud defense. The master-hacker who was able to access the stars’ photos did so by sliding into each individual iCloud account—something that he/she could do to any one of you (us) Apple users.
Scary, right?
In the last week, Apple has promised to begin notifying users of any suspicious account activity via e-mails and push-notifications and assures its users that their private information will remain private.
A harder problem to tackle, however, is the sheer number of X-rated photos that float into cyber space everyday, just waiting to be discovered and broadcast to an unintended (and, sadly, all too eager) audience.
A survey conducted by Cosmopolitan revealed that amongst women with an average age of 21, a whopping 89% have taken nude photos. 82% of these women would do it again, while 91% have never had these photos leaked to a wider audience.
So, who’s to blame? Is it the owner’s fault for having the photo in the first place, even if it is private property? Or should we point the finger at the people going out of their way to uncover these pictures and the technology that allows it to happen?
Sure, the celebrities (and 89% of women possessing these photos) created materials that exposed their bodies in a way that is inappropriate to the public eye. They also did so without the intent of them ever reaching an audience. While the hackers and the media were undoubtedly wrong in seeking out and spreading these pictures, they also used the resources and knowledge available to them in order to achieve their own goals.
Ultimately, it is unfair to blame one offender in a crime committed by multiple parties. Instead, the lesson to be learned here lies in taking responsibility for one’s actions and their consequences– whether those consequences will affect only oneself or (un)suspecting internet surfers everywhere.
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