Celebs to Sue Google Over Nude Photo Scandal? Lawyer Threatens $100 Million Lawsuit

Find out what the attorney, whose firm represents more than 12 celebrities, said in a letter sent to the search engine giant's top brass

By Corinne Heller Oct 02, 2014 8:53 PMTags
Kirsten DunstJemal Countess/Getty Images

Will celebrities targeted in the recent nude photo leaks sue Google...for $100 million?

In a letter dated Thursday, Oct. 1, obtained by E! News and addressed to the search engine giant's top brass, including co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, prominent California lawyer Martin Singer states that his firm represents more than 12 female "actresses, models and athletes" who had private photos and videos stolen from their Apple iClouds and distributed since late August.

The attorney, who does not name any of the stars, says Google failed to act "expeditiously and responsibly" to remove the images from its search results and also compares the multi-billion dollar company's handling of the matter to the NFL's domestic violence controversy. No filings have been made in court.

"We've removed tens of thousands of pictures—within hours of the requests being made—and we have closed hundreds of accounts," a Google spokesperson told E! News in response to the letter. "The Internet is used for many good things. Stealing people's private photos is not one of them."

Naked photos of women resembling a large number of popular female celebrities were released in two major waves over the last month.

Singer claims "Google has taken little or no action to stop these outrageous violations or to limit the images from appearing in Google search results" and also said some users shared the photos on Blogspot blogs, also owned by Google. He claims the company" is making millions and profiting from the victimization of women" and that its "Don't be evil" motto is a "sham."

"We are writing concerning Google's despicable, reprehensible conduct in not only failing to act expeditiously and responsibly to remove the images, but in knowingly accommodating, facilitating and perpetrating the unlawful conduct," the lawyer said in the letter. "As a result of your blatantly unethical behavior, Google is exposed to significant liability and both compensatory and punitive damages that could well exceed $100 million."

Singer said the photos were stolen by "pervert predators" and that they were "violating the victims' privacy rights and basic human decency by stealing and displaying confidential private photos and videos (most of which depict the women in private settings, while nude or semi-nude, engaging in private intimate conduct), without the permission of the owners of these images."

 The first leak took place on Labor Day Weekend and drew the FBI's attention.

"I try to have a sense of humor about a really unfortunate situation," one of the hacked stars, Kirsten Dunsttold E! News in an on-camera interview in September. "The FBI is investigating, so they're handling it right now."

The second leak took place on Sept. 20. Apple CEO Tim Cook said affected celebrities' iCloud accounts were targeted specifically and that the stars could have been victims of phishing scams. On each day, readers shared the pics online, which spurred many of them to turn up via Google searches, although mainly ones that only searched within a specific website.

Singer accuses the search engine giant of doing "nothing" about the situation "because the victims are celebrities with valuable publicity rights."

"Like the NFL, which turned a blind eye while its players assaulted and victimized women and children, Google has turned a blind eye while its sites repeatedly exploit and victimize these people," he said.

The NFL has recently come under fire over its handling of domestic abuse cases involving several players. Following the backlash, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the organization planned to "implement new conduct policies" for players and other employees.

Singer is demanding that Google and suspend or terminate all Google-owned sites and accounts that host or link to copies of their clients' stolen images and also "remove all Google search engine and Google Image Search results for and which display the hacked images."

"Google should set the example for all other operators and providers," they added.

 —Reporting by Lindsay Good and Marcus Mulick