B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered one man to pay another $5,000 after finding he shared sexual video images of the person online.
“The applicant says it is horrifying to know that a video showing him having sex, with his face shown, has been on the internet for over two years,” tribunal member Micah Carmody’s June 7 decision said.
“He says although the video has now been removed, the violation continues to cause him mental distress in general and anxiety around sex and intimacy, specifically," Carmody said.
J.G. claimed R.C. shared an intimate image of him without his consent and asked for protection orders under B.C.’s Intimate Images Protection Act (IIPA) as well as $5,000 in damages.
Carmody said R.C. acknowledged he shared an intimate image of J.G. online and agreed with the protection orders.
The video was posted on R.C.’s OnlyFans and Just For Fans websites.
R.C. said he has taken steps to have the image removed. He said while he accepted responsibility for his actions, $5,000 was too much.
Carmody said the two men met on the app Grindr.
The ruling said J.G. consented to being filmed, understanding that the video would remain between the two of them.
R.C. made the video with his phone and sent it to J.G. privately.
“Later, the respondent shared the video online to subscribers of his OnlyFans and Just For Fans accounts, from which he earns income,” Carmody said. “(R.C.) also posted short clips of the video on his X or Twitter accounts, one of which has over 100,000 followers. None of this is disputed."
R.C. said he thought J.G. was aware that the video “was shared, based on a conversation” they had about it.
Carmody found R.C. had not proven J.G. consented to the sharing of the video online.
“I find the applicant always had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the video,” Carmody said. “I find the video, and any clips or still images made from it, is an ‘intimate image’ as defined under IIPA and that the respondent shared it without his consent.”
Carmody also ordered R.C. to:
• stop distributing the image, and
• make every reasonable effort to make the intimate image unavailable to others, including removal from any online website or platform and from any other electronic form of application, software, database, or communication method; and,
• have the intimate image de-indexed from any search engine.
Carmody further ordered internet intermediaries or any other person or organization to immediately:
• remove the intimate image from any platform it operates and from any other electronic form of application, software, database, or communication method;
• delete or destroy the intimate image; and,
• de-index the intimate image from any search engine.
