Revenge Porn Hits Close to 10 Downing

LOS ANGELES—A high-profile case of so-called revenge porn has hit close to home for British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose nanny has reported being victimized by a former boyfriend who allegedly posted old nude photos of her to at least three websites. The situation came to light Friday after the unnamed woman alerted police, who are reportedly investigating. "The carer for the Prime Minister’s children was shown in 'overtly sexual poses' across at least five pictures on three adult websites, according to reports that emerged over the weekend," reported the Independent. "It has raised concerns of a 'worst-case scenario' whereby the nanny, who has accompanied the family on foreign holidays and is said to be close to Mr. Cameron’s wife, Samantha, could have been blackmailed over the images." The specter of that sort of compromising situation threatens to escalate a national "conversation" on "revenge porn" to the highest level, with one charity already calling on the government to make it a priority. “I hope this case starts a conversation,” said Laura Higgins, helpline manager at the UK Safer Internet Centre. “I was personally involved in giving evidence following David Cameron’s comments about internet security last summer, and I was able to give them specific examples of why this is an issue.” The Independent added, "Downing Street refused to comment on the pictures, but a source close to the nanny told The Sun: 'She’s horrified these profiles have come to light and is mystified at how they got there. She insists it was nothing to do with her and must be down to one of her ex-boyfriends. It is worrying that someone would go to such lengths. She realizes that the worst scenario could have been if someone had used the stuff posted on there to try to blackmail her.’” The idea of blackmail over a few nude photos seems improbable these days, even for the nanny to a prime minister's children, the fact that it is being mentioned as a possible scenario is an indication of the direction the "conversation" is already taking. Similarly, if the United Kingdom does move to address "revenge porn" with the same heavy hand it has used in its attempt to curb access to online porn, look for some scary measures to be proposed by the West's most censorship-embracing government.