FriendFinder Networks owns and operates a number of “adult-oriented” websites that are popular around the world. In order to access these websites, users must provide personal and identifying information in an account. Hackers claim to have recently broken into FriendFinder Network’s data sources and exposed more than 412 million user accounts, and the implications of what this could mean are only now being uncovered.
Around 339 million of those accounts belong to the site AdultFriendFinder. The company itself describes this website as the “largest sex and swinger community” website in the world. It is believed that not only do the people who have had their information leaked face potential public embarrassment, but many could also see divorce lawsuits coming their way.
Last year, Ashley Madison was hacked and nearly 40 million users were revealed to the public. That website was directly advertised as a discreet way for people to cheat on their spouses, so the backlash was huge. An unknown but assumedly large number of divorces around the world were filed once people saw their spouse’s name in the massive list of “cheaters.” While AdultFriendFinder is not necessarily a website for adultery, the adult-oriented content on the website, including private webcam shows, does not bode well for the droves of angry spouses on the horizon.
Online Identities Affect Real Life Situations
Many people might mistakenly think, “If it is just an online thing, it doesn’t really matter.” The truth is that in a divorce, any proof of infidelity or adultery can smash a person’s chances of gaining child custody rights or property in equitable distribution. The judge will try to award the spouse that was most committed to the health of the marriage, and spending time in the FriendFinder Network seems to suggest otherwise.
Another common misconception is that what is created in private online spaces will stay private. This is not the case at all. There are very few truly private and confidential places on the internet. Essentially, if anyone else can access your information, data, photographs, etc., it is considered in the eyes of the public. Even without the widespread hack, a good divorce attorney could have potentially used electronic discovery methods to discover adulterous activity on AdultFriendFinder anyway.
Have you found out that your spouse was using AdultFriendFinder due to the recent data leak? Want to file for divorce because of it? Talk to Hedayati Law Group, P.C. about your grounds for divorce, what to expect when filing, and how to prepare for litigation, if necessary. Contact us online today.