An Australian man has been sentenced to six months jail for an act of revenge that involved posting nude photos of his ex-lover on Facebook.

According to the SMH report, the man pleaded guilty to “publishing an indecent article”, but appealed the severity of his sentence.  The sentence was confirmed on appeal, but made suspended. A similar case occurred in 2010, when a jilted Wellington man was sentenced to four months jail for posting a photograph of his ex-girlfriend naked, for millions of Facebook users to see.

It is noteworthy that the action against the man was a criminal case (brought by the police), not a civil case (brought by the ex-girlfriend) for breach of privacy. The ex-girlfriend wanted the photos removed. When the man refused, she involved the police – an action that no doubt increased the pressure on Facebook to delete the photos if the man didn’t.

See my interview about the case on News Exchange, ABC TV News 24, on 27 April 2012