CANOGA PARK, Calif. — The Free Speech Coalition says it is looking into legal options available for performers affected by the PornWikileaks.com site, which has exposed volumes of personal data information on thousands of performers.
“Free Speech Coalition stands in opposition to the violations of performer privacy by PornWikileaks,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said Friday. “This is not an issue of free speech; it is about violating the privacy of performers. It’s about potential extortion and exposing performers to potential harassment, stalking and other criminal activities.”
Duke said that it is unclear where the data displayed on PornWikileaks originated but federal authorities are probing breaches of federal law in the accumulation of data that has been exposed on the website. The investigation, she says, centers on the illegal access of medical databases.
Attorney Reed Lee, an FSC board member who is chair of the group's Government & Legal Committee, said PornWikileaks' postings have "an obvious chilling effect on performers and exposes them to known dangers that are extremely serious."
“Would the website operators have published the NAACP's membership list in the most difficult days of the civil rights struggle?" he asked. "Everyone involved with PornWikileaks is playing a most dangerous game. They target the performers and they target free expression itself."
The FSC disclosed Friday that attorney Corey Silverstein is representing client Paul Armstrong in a possible action against individuals using the PornWikileaks website for illegal activity.
He is seeking performers who have had their personal information posted on PornWikileaks or have been threatened by those connected to the site.
“While I cannot discuss the specific nature of my clients' allegations and any action that is being prepared, it is important to note that this is not a simple free speech issue,” Silverstein said. “The individuals running this website are allegedly intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and privacy of adult performers all over the world while purposely defaming them in the process.
"The website repeatedly refers to adult performers as ‘pornographic whores’ and ‘hookers’ and even talks about specific adult performers ‘degrading the whole family.’ My clients cannot comprehend why the individuals running this website would want to intentionally cause so much potential harm.”
The FSC has asked those who have been affected by PornWikileaks and their attorneys to contact FSC at PWL@freespeechcoalition.com.
