We’ve meandered from loving to loathing the internet in the past 10 years. Social media platforms were once considered revolutionary political forces. Now they face serious accusations, including eroding democratic institutions, facilitating the silencing of dissident voices, and spreading intimate images without consent, also known as revenge porn. While anonymous message boards like 4chan other dark corners of the internet may have once been the more popular home for revenge porn, mainstream sites like Facebook and Instagram are no longer immune.

“It’s incredibly important, especially for young victims, that revenge porn photos aren’t seen on Facebook and Instagram. That they aren’t tagged constantly, that they don't have to have them removed again and again,” Holten, an online human rights activist, told Mashable.

“We spend so much time soaking up this beautiful internet thinking it would be such a democratic force. No one asked how this can be used for pain. Non-consensual porn is one of the more extreme examples.”

When it comes to revenge porn, terminology is problematic because attacks are not always about seeking vengeance and porn implies consent. That said, the women interviewed here argue that we should focus on the complex ways in which the non-consensual use of images tells women everywhere they’re not in control of their own online identities.

