When it comes to porn, here are my rules:
Rule #1: The subjects must be adults
Rule #2: The subjects must be consenting adults
If you don’t break either of those rules, I am on your side. I will defend your right to make, watch, display, and sell that content.
Break either rule, and I want to hurt you for the damage you do to others.
I want to hurt isanybodydown.com. I want to hurt them bad. Who’s with me?
Here’s their business plan:
Step one: Register the domain name “isanybodydown.com”
Step two: Get ahold of nude photos of people who never consented to having their photos published.
Step three: Publish them, along with their names, home towns, and links to their facebook profiles.
So now how do you “profit?”
Well, openly saying “I’ll take down the photo for $250,” would probably create some legal issues for you. So, instead, you create a fake lawyer persona and say “I am an internet lawyer, named David Blade, III, and I’ll get your pics down for $250.” Here is the full text of his bullshit:
Advertisement Disclaimer: This is a paid advertisement by David Blade | Attorney-at-Law
Hello! I’m the Takedown Lawyer and so far, I’ve had 42 clients come to me to have their pictures and information removed from Is Anybody Down, all of whom were a success! I have people’s pictures and information taken down from sites like these all the time; including over 38 removals from the original “Is Anyone Up” over the past 2 years.
My guarantee is that your pictures and information will be taken down within 48 hours for a lot less than what the average lawyer will charge you. If your pictures and info aren’t removed, I will refund your money.
Your costs with me will generally be $200-$300, which is far less than most lawyers will charge for a mere consultation of your case.
I’m so confident in my abilities as an attorney that I took out an ad on this page just to show you that I mean business. I understand that sites like these can cause many problems in your personal life and I want to help you get your peace of mind and privacy back!
Please check out my website, TakedownLawyer.com for more info, or you can contact me directly at davidblade@takedownlawyer.com.
Don’t delay! Your safety and security might depend on it!Edit: Updated September 21st.
I have had 42 clients removed this website at this point. The administrator of this website has complied with me on 100% of cases so far.
My work is pro bono, and at a reduced filing fee, which is comparatively inexpensive.
If you see that content is removed from this website in the future – It means that I was hired.
I work as a Public Defender for the State of New York. I’m a real attorney – not an ‘internet lawyer’.
I attended college with the administrator of this website. We are on a first name basis and regularly converse.
Our big disagreement is this website – He tells me that he is doing nothing wrong and that the client’s pictures should stay up forever.
I tell him in response that he should be ashamed and should remove all of them.
In response, as a compromise, I’ve agreed to pay to advertise here in order to assist people who are at the point of hiring someone to have their pictures removed from sites like these.
I don’t want anyone to be taken advantage of by fake internet lawyers who promise content removal and then wind up being unable to deliver.
Having read the emails in the ‘legal section’ of this website, I am confident that I would have had their content removed without any of the hassles they faced as a result of hiring ‘internet lawyers’.
I offer a guaranteed money-back refund in the event that your content either remains on this website, or is removed and then re-uploaded.
Most cases take 3 hours or less (!) to have their content removed from this website.
I’m looking forward to helping you remove your unwanted, infringing content so that you can move on with your life.
Best Regards,
-David Blade | Attorney-at-Law
Well, go here and see if you can find a David Blade licensed in NY:
I didn’t find one.
Hmmm…. 100% success rate on this site. Lets dig deeper:
Whois information for isanybodydown.com here.
Whois information for Mr. Blade’s website at takedownlawyer.com here.
Hmm, that seems awfully coincidental.
We have the same name on the domain name registration, a “New York lawyer” who is not actually listed in the directory of attorneys in New York, and a 100% success rate when people “hire” this “lawyer” by sending him $250 through PayPal.
If anyone out there has been scammed by these crooks, contact me. I will represent you pro bono. If you’re not in one of my states of licensure (AZ, CA, FL, MA, NV) then contact me anyhow, and I’ll get you in touch with someone in your state.
P.S.: I did have an email exchange with “David Blade.” Here it is, for your enjoyment.
UPDATE 11/13/2012 – Randazza Legal Group is no longer accepting pro bono cases regarding IsAnybodyDown.com unless you are a resident of the Las Vegas metro area.
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The Legal Satyricon 
Great! I was in the mood for a new fraud investigation. My post will be up in the morning. Let’s crowdsource an investigation of the people involved.
Reblogged this on Philly Law Blog.
There is a rather great need to bring this issue to more websites, such as reddit or another online community. These people are taking refuge in obscurity, and you’ll need exposure in order to combat their practices.
That, and I’m fairly sure (with my extremely limited legal knowledge) that it’s not exactly legal to claim to be an attorney-at-law without a license. Do you really have to wait for someone whose photo had been uploaded without their consent to open a case, or is there some other way to bring these predators down?
Impersonating an attorney carries pretty steep criminal penalties. My favorite part is that “David Blade” admits to at least 42 victims in his advertisement.
funny, i just spoke to someone involved… they say that David Blade’s site is going to be changed, with no “attorney” implication on it.
Change it all they want, they still did it, and when they did it, it was illegal, so they’re still going to be hosed. It’s not like changing the site will retroactively change all of the posts, emails, ads, archived pages that were spawned from it…
This dude/these kinds of folks are pure unadulterated filth.
[…] Since that site's decline, there have been many imitators. Marc Randazza is documenting a scam involving such a site, and a purported lawyer who will take mone…. […]
[…] Randazza has picked a fight with “David Blade,” attorney at law and isanybodydown.com. These guys seem to follow […]
[…] Randazza is exposing a scam being run on a site called “Is Anybody Down”. Ken White at Popehat has gotten in on the fun too. The concept behind Anybody Down site is that […]
Warrior.
He’s a public defender in NY? C’mon. That’s just weak. I’m not entirely sure how it is there, but here in CT, I’m not authorized to practice any other kind of law or represent any other clients in any legal services whatsoever other than that assigned to me by my office.
Also, the website is total WTF.
Now they’ve changed the name of the site to “Take Down Hammer”: http://takedownhammer.com/2012/10/31/takedown-hammer/ although the main URL remains http://www.takedownlawyer.com.
It’s time to lay the hammer down….
Reblogged this on THE TRIAL WARRIOR BLOG and commented:
First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza provides a forensic demonstration on how a real “take down lawyer” handles an a scam blogger who is impersonating a lawyer and extorting his victims for a fee.
See also, Marc’s follow-up posts:
“If anyone out there has been scammed by these crooks, contact me. I will represent you pro bono.”
Wouldn’t it be ironic if someone contacted the women shown on http://isanybodydown.com/category/hatemail-legal-threats-other-stuff/ using the contact info provided there to let them know about Mr. Randazza’s offer of pro bono services?
[…] that Marc Randazza and Popehat are quick on the scent of a new scam operation, I figured I’d pile on — as […]
Send this to the New York Bar Association and Attorney General. There are quite a few criminal acts going on here and these guys are in for some hefty jail time. Getting some plaintiffs in a civil case will also probably end up resulting in glorious victories.
They got me, I get creepy phone calls all the time now. I want to change my number but Ive had it since I was 16 and I don’t want to change it in case someone from my past contacts me. If you can help, please help me.
Marc Randazza’s contact information is here: http://www.randazza.com/contact/contact.html
contact him and hopefully he can help.
Helen, I hope you don’t settle for just getting your info removed. Mr. Randazza cannot bring a civil suit against these guys unless he has a client who was harmed by them. I hope you won’t stop until these guys are out of business and ALL of the women they’ve victimized have their private info and pics taken down. It only takes one person standing up to them to make a difference!
Helen, call me. 888-667-1113.
“I am coming for you” coming from Marc would make anyone with a clue sh*t a brick.
No shit.
I’m looking forward to the inevitable “OMG! Someone please make it stop!” response from the fine folks at isanybodydown.com.
Of course, I’m also looking forward to Mr. Randazza’s response to such a request, which will hopefully be something along the lines of, “Murum aries attigit, motherfuckers.”
I already got that — he called me squealing like a stepped-on-kitten.
Oh please tell me that we’re going to get a transcript or something?
“…like a stepped on kitten”. I can only imagine although If I can’t think of much worse than being on the severely wrong side of an issue and going against you at the same time.
[…] Marc documented in a series of posts, "Is Anybody Down?" had a sleazy relationship with "Takedown Laywer" "David Blade […]
[web site to be changed, no “attorney” implication]
That should be interesting. Someone acting as the “Takedown Lawyer” who will now advertise with no attorney implication on it.
Let us know how that works out.
[…] can read more details on Marc’s excellent ( and often hilarious) blog, The Legal Satyricon, and also in the post by Ken at […]
I was a victim of isanybodydown.com as well. I had to change my number because I got tired of getting calls from blocked numbers at 1 am and 7 am.
I’m with you to bring this fucker down. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to find this blog post.
did u ever get off this website
Well no. If it were that easy, then I would have stopped stressing about it ages ago.
[…] THIS RIGHT HERE IS A MOTHER FUCKING SCAM! […]
[…] THIS RIGHT HERE IS A MOTHER FUCKING SCAM! […]
[…] I have come up with a brilliant and cunning plan to pay off all my student […]
[…] New Boxee TV. Facebook Censor? Feds No Dice on Mega Data. Gov’t attack on the cloud! Digital Shakedown Story. 1.5 Million because he did not show up. me.ga! uTorrent 9 Months + 13k. Firefix below 20%. Sharp in […]
Hurt ’em, Marc. Hurt ’em real good.
My name is Megan and I’ve been on that site since a week before my bday in August 2012. I never contented to them having my photos and I hate these people with a passion. I want my pictures down and I want them destroyed permanently. I want to do whatever it takes to get my photos and other girls photos down immoderately and I want these bastards to pay for what they did. I am in Louisiana but I still want to do something. Contact me back whenever you can.
Thank you so much.
Megan – my heart goes out to you. Please use Marc and any other atty to pursue the legal aspect. If your pictures are still coming up on search engines, if you write me at bill at william g ryan dot mobi I’ll do what I can to offer you free assistance to help mitigate the damage. i’m not making any promises and have no ability to get pictures taken down, but I can help automate the process of getting a ton of legit pictures and name associations up so that the bad stuff falls to the end of the search engine list. Also – i realize this offer may not be ok with Marc – and if so I’ll gladly take it down – that’s in part why I’m including the URI to my site so you can see who I am and assure you i have no other motivation other than being the father of a daughter who’s quite sympathetic to what you’re going through.
Thank you. I have gone through hell with these people. Never in a million years did I believe something like this would happen. I appreciate all the help I can get. You will be hearing from me soon.
Mr bill, I can’t find the link to get I touch with you. If you could email me please at radiogirlxd@aim.com. It would be greatly appreciated
I can help out in Washington state, but I must qualify that this is not my practice area. Has anyone thought of filing a whistle blower complaint with the IRS? There’s no way this so-called “takedown lawyer” is reporting his paypal receipts as gross income. Tax evasion sends you straight to federal-pound-me-in-the-ass-prison. It would also help identify this takedown tool to have the IRS CI looking into this.
I’m in WA and there are photos of me on this site. I would greatly appreciate any help or advice you have. How can I contact you?
[…] Legalsatyricon – The Slow Creep Of The TSA, Lets Fuck Up David Blade, isanybodydown.com Responds, isanybodydown.com Operator, Police Brutality=SPAM, Kenneth White . . […]
[…] is a good thing I went to college with guys and we regular converse, so I can offer them my work pro bono and at a re… because if it was anyone else, I’d be charging them a lot more all the mental work I have to […]
[…] The scam-bustin that started here. […]
[…] a personal cause. “I want to hurt isanybodydown.com. I want to hurt them bad,” Randazza wrote in a recent blog post. “If anyone out there has been scammed by these crooks, contact […]
[…] a personal cause. “I want to hurt [site removed]. I want to hurt them bad,” Randazza wrote in a recent blog post. “If anyone out there has been scammed by these crooks, contact […]
Just heard an interview about this on NPR. Good stuff. Exactly how can’t the police just go and arrest these people if their photos are being posted without their consent? According to the NPR interview by one of the guy who runs the site, he says they don’t post any non-consenting people’s photos on their site. But if that was the case, there really wouldn’t be any controversy. So exactly what’s going on here, because I’m not sure I’m getting the whole picture from anyone.
Wouldn’t “non-consenting” mean that the photos’ subjects had affirmatively denied permission to publish? Consenting would indicate that the subjects had granted permission to publish.
The lesson is, without an agreement from the subjects one way or the other, the site’s owners have placed themselves in legal jeopardy.
He thinks that by sending naked pictures to anyone anywhere, that’s consent to be posted on his site. Distributing to select people is apparently consent to be distributed to anyone for profit.
I don’t know about the website owners and all the details of how they’re protected, but when I went to the police to report the guy who posted them (I used to date him), they told me that it wasn’t harassment because it wasn’t direct contact and it didn’t happen more than one time. I can get my photos down through a copyright infringement claim, but then he just re-posts them to other sites. It’s funny because he’s a total pussy in real life. If I outed him with concrete evidence, he’d cry to his mom and threaten suicide. Then, she’d buy him an ice cream cone, he’d be all better, and he’d re-post again.
HAHAHHAHA!!!! You went to the POLICE??? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Look, everyone knows that if you want to stop an underage kid from drinking – the cops will be there. Got a neighbor smoking pot? Cops will come with a SWAT team! You have someone breaking a law that requires them to look at a statute book? Fuck off.
Yeah, right? Sucks.
Then, I actually ended up dating the police investigator assigned to my “case.” To make a long story short, I broke up with him, he got pissed when I wouldn’t talk his calls, and he sent me a text threatening to show intimate images. Nightmare all over again. I told him to stop f*cking contacting me, but he wouldn’t stop. I’m too afraid to go to IA. They cover each other’s asses.
Um, I think PinkMeth is down. I want to shout a tentative “yay,” but I’m not 100%.
it isnt… pinkmeth.so
but, I would imagine that if the Islamic Somali registry got some letters, that would change. But, that’s gonna take someone giving a shit enough to spend 15 minutes to write a letter.
Yeah, I went to the .so site. It takes me to another page. Oh wait, you think they filtered my IP address or something?
I do not understand why any woman would ever date a cop in this day and age. Jesus. Thats like you shoved a cactus in your vagina and now you want someone to act shocked that it did not feel good.
LOL!!! I didn’t know, I didn’t know, I didn’t know. He even smelled kind of funny. It’s like crooked people have some weird pheromones.
[…] off, don’t go attorney pro se. Let me be your lawyer, after all, I work as a Public Defender for the State of New York so I’m the perfect choice to defend you (just as your experience with Sex.com makes your the […]
[…] I like Marc Randazza’s rules about porn: […]
I like them, too. I have my own Rule #3: The subjects must shave their butt cracks.
[…] to solve this? Craig Brittain, proprietor of IsAnybodyDown, figured this out by creating an apparently fake lawyer (“David Blade, III”, the “Takedown Lawyer”) to advertise on his site, […]
[…] as “Takedown Lawyer David Blade, III.” That ended after First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza voiced skepticism that David Blade was really a lawyer. Within hours of being confronted, the “Takedown Lawyer” disappeared and […]
[…] or will he file a lawsuit that also names the other people being mean to him (namely Popehat, Randazza, Captain Obvious, […]
Aren’t they in violation of 18 USC § 2257 ?? I certainly did not see any notification of record keeping.
[…] publish them, and then apparently demand money for their removal. (See also Marc Randazza’s discussion of IsAnybodyDown.com.) The plaintiffs are suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress […]