'Revenge porn' website IsAnyoneUp.com closed by owner By Dave Lee

Technology Reporter, BBC News Published duration 20 April 2012

image caption Hunter Moore tweeted about the site's closure

The owner of a notorious "revenge porn" blog has closed the website, selling its domain to an anti-bullying group.

IsAnyoneUp.com had been encouraging people to send in intimate pictures of ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends for more than a year.

The site's owner Hunter Moore said the decision to close was made to " to stand up for under-age bullying".

New owner Bullyville.com said: "IsAnyoneUp.com served no public good. That is why it is offline."

In an interview with ABC's Nightline, Bullyville's founder James McGibney added: "No doubt, [Moore] was the No.1 internet bully out there and we took him down... not a hostile takeover but in a politically correct way."

It is unclear how much, if anything, the domain changed hands for.

The site, which featured pictures of men and women in many countries across the world, including the UK, would publish the unwilling subject's full name and link to social networking profiles.

During its time online, Mr Moore's site attracted more than 300,000 hits a day - earning him up to $20,000 every month from advertising revenues.

Subjects, whose pictures were published without their permission, were often ridiculed, with many forced to shut down their various social networking profiles.

Facebook threat

Mr Moore, who is 26 and lives in Los Angeles, used the IsAnyoneUp brand to sell merchandise and promote club nights.

Prior to the site's closure, he had planned to launch a mobile app and accompanying social network.

Mr Moore, who employed four people to help him administer the site, would refuse to remove the pictures, even if threatened with legal action.

In September 2011, the site was served a cease and desist letter by Facebook, threatening Mr Moore with legal action over featuring screenshots from the networking site.

Mr Moore published the letter on his blog, apparently ignoring the request. Mr Moore has claimed he sent Facebook's lawyers a picture of his genitals in reply.

Facebook would not comment on the issue. However, users are prevented from sharing links to the website, in line, Facebook said, with its policy on pornography.

'Burned out'

The IsAnyoneUp.com domain now redirects to a page on Bullyville.com featuring Mr Moore's announcement and a statement from Bullyville's Mr McGibney.

"There are millions of women and men who are thankful that Isanyoneup.com is no longer online," Mr McGibney wrote.

"Lawyers and massive companies have tried unsuccessfully to remove it from the internet. Bullyville was able to work with Hunter to get this done."

Mr Moore blamed the "drama" of receiving submitted content involving under-age subjects as one of the key reasons for wanting to close down the site.

He said: "The site was a blessing for me and still is, but I am burned out and I honestly can't take another under-age kid getting submitted and having to go through the process of reporting it and dealing with all the legal drama of that situation."