Latest coverage of the celebrity hacking scandal:
Apple's response: Tim Cook promises extra iCloud security. Will it work?
The law: How the photo hackers (and sharers) could be prosecuted
What you can do: How to protect your photos on iCloud
What Reddit has done: Reddit bans subgroup for nude celeb photos
Celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Victoria Justice and McKayla Maroney say they are pursuing legal action after a trove of their private nude photos — along with nude images of other celebrities — began spreading across the web this week.
It’s unclear what their attorneys can do at this point, given that the hackers who stole the pictures have not been identified.
But representatives for Lawrence and Maroney have reportedly begun to send letters to porn websites that have reposted the images, demanding that the photos be taken down.
Upton’s representatives may follow a similar path, as her attorney reportedly said they will “pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images."
The letters may not help, though. Scrubbing the photos from the Internet may be a lost cause, legal experts told Mashable. No website is obligated to take down photos even if a court orders it to do so and copyright law has its own limitations.
But Reddit has banned a subgroup called "The Fappening" that became a clearinghouse for the nude photos on Saturday. It also announced that it had removed photos on its servers after the legal owners requested they do so.
The images began spreading all over the web and Twitter on Sunday evening.
Early word of the images began spreading on 4Chan earlier in the day, where posters claimed that the images were the result of hacker intrusions on a number of iCloud accounts and smartphones.
Apple later acknowledged that celebrity accounts were hacked, but denied there was a wide breach in iCloud. The FBI is also looking into the case.
When contacted by Mashable on Sunday, a spokesperson for Lawrence issued the following statement:
This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.
In addition to Lawrence, these are the biggest names on the list posted to 4Chan of alleged victims of the iCloud leak:
Aly and AJ Michalka, Aubrey Plaza, Abby Elliott, Avril Lavigne, Amber Heard, Brie Larson, Candice Swanepoel, Cara Delevigne, Emily Ratjakowski, Farrah Abraham, Gabrielle Union, Hayden Pannettiere, Hope Solo, Hillary Duff, Jenny McCarthy, Kaley Cuoco, Kate Upton, Kate Bosworth, Keke Palmer, Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst, Krysten Ritter, Lea Michele, Lizzy Caplan, Mary Kate Olsen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rihanna, Scarlet Johansson, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Wynona Ryder, Alison Brie and Dave Franco.
Most of those named in the list didn't comment publicly at first, but actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead did take to Twitter on Sunday to react to having her images taken in the hack:
To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves.— Mary E. Winstead (@M_E_Winstead) August 31, 2014
Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked.— Mary E. Winstead (@M_E_Winstead) August 31, 2014
At least two of the alleged victims of the hack initially disputed the authenticity of the images. Justice and Maroney both used humor to try to defuse the situation:
These so called nudes of me are FAKE people. Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*— Victoria Justice (@VictoriaJustice) August 31, 2014
the fake photos of me are crazy!! was trying to rise above it all, and not give "the creator" the time of day.. BUT.. pic.twitter.com/hceQcOxYkJ— McKayla Maroney (@McKaylaMaroney) September 1, 2014
However, Justice has now said she was the victim of "a serious violation of privacy," and Maroney's attorneys are reportedly taking legal action. Along with the other statements from the celebrities, this appears to confirm the authenticity some of the images being circulated.
Other celebrities on the list have maintained that the images purporting to depict them are fake:
to every1 going on about my "nudes" & my "m&g prices" neither are real! my lil ass is a lot cuter than that lmao & tour details r comin soon— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) September 2, 2014
And still others have seemingly acknowledged the authenticity of the photos while adding their own spin, like Kaley Cuoco:
And Kirsten Dunst was the first to launch a broadside on Twitter directed at Apple. Using emoji, her tweet apparently derides iCloud as a "pizza sh*t":
More updates from Mashable's coverage of the hacking scandal:
UPDATE, Aug. 31, 9:20 p.m. ET: A number of Twitter accounts posting uncensored photos of Jennifer Lawrence nude have been suspended. When contacted by Mashable, a Twitter spokesperson would not offer comment on the deletion of the accounts in relation to the stolen images, but did point us to the service's rules page.
Additionally, a spokesperson for Ariana Grande has reportedly denied the authenticity of images purporting to show the singer nude, calling the photos "completely fake," in an email to BuzzFeed.
UPDATE, Sept. 1, 7:42 a.m. ET: We've added McKayla Maroney's tweet calling the photos "fake," above. More coverage: Social Media Goes Wild Over Massive Celebrity Nude Photo Leak
UPDATE, Sept. 2, 9 a.m. ET: On Monday, Apple released its first statement concerning the alleged hacking. "We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report," Apple representatives told Mashable.
UPDATE, Sept. 2, 5 p.m. ET: Apple acknowledged that celebrity accounts were hacked, but denied there was a wide breach in iCloud. The FBI is also looking into the case.
UPDATE, Sept. 2, 8 p.m. ET: Victoria Justice has again taken to Twitter, this time to state she was the victim of a "serious violation of privacy."
Shortly after I tweeted about certain pics of me being fake, I was faced with a serious violation of (cont) http://t.co/Z8iRJ64eV0— Victoria Justice (@VictoriaJustice) September 2, 2014
"Shortly after I tweeted about certain pics of me being fake, I was faced with a serious violation of privacy. There have always been fake photos of me on the internet, but I will not be put in the position to defend myself as to what is real or what is fake. I am angry at this massive invasion of privacy, and like the other women who are in this situation alongside of me, I am taking legal action to protect my rights," she wrote.
UPDATE, Sept. 3, 1:45 p.m. ET: TMZ reported that McKayla Maroney's lawyers are taking legal action over photos that allegedly depict her. One of her attorneys demanded that Porn.com remove the photos because Maroney, who is now 18, was underage at the time the photos were taken, according to the report. (Porn.com complied.) Another attorney apparently made a copyright claim on the pictures. More coverage: How the Celebrity Photo Hackers (and Sharers) Could Be Prosecuted
UPDATE, Sept. 4, 11:45 a.m. ET: We've updated the top of this article with the latest on legal threats from Lawrence, Upton, Justice and Maroney.
UPDATE, Sept. 5, 11:50 p.m. ET: We've added information about the likelihood of removing the nude photos from the web to the top of this story.
UPDATE, Sept. 6, 11:40 p.m. ET: We've added information about Reddit banning the subgroup that has become a depository for the nude photos.
Colin Daileda contributed reporting.