TV star Georgia Harrison blasts online giants that allow revenge porn to spread like fire

TV star Georgia Harrison has blasted online platforms which allowed a revenge porn video of herself to spread at the speed of a “house fire”.

Former Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear walked out of prison in January, having served 10-and-a-half months of his 21-month sentence for sharing a film of him having sex with Georgia online without her consent.

The Love Island contestant told MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee how she was hospitalised when a cyst burst during her ordeal.

She told how the video “went viral to a point I can’t explain” as it spread round multiple porn sites and was circulated on WhatsApp.

Georgia, 29, said: “It absolutely horrified me that an individual had done this to me but what most horrified me was that these platforms were hosting these videos that were unconsented.

“For many that I tried to reach out to, I got an automated response saying we will get back to you within four to six days.

“When something like this is happening, it really is like a house fire and the quicker you can put it out, the quicker you can stop it.

“Unfortunately, in four to six days your house has burnt down, everyone knows about this video – your family, your workplace, your peers, it’s too late.”

The video of the then-couple having sex was captured on Bear's home CCTV unit and was then shared to OnlyFans without Georgia’s knowledge.

Bear was jailed in March last year after being found guilty of voyeurism and of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.

He has been ordered to pay the state the £22,305 he made from sharing the video.

Georgia said: “I feel like one of the biggest challenges in general is these big social media companies who are hosting pornographic images and videos, they don’t have any way of us getting through to them to report it when there is something unconsented there.

“It shouldn’t be robots that you get through to when it’s this important a situation, it shouldn’t be that hard to get through to someone.

“I’m not saying delete it, I’m not saying take this person’s account down, I’m just saying can we pause it and then review it in a few weeks and I think that is the biggest issue we are dealing with at the moment.

“Then, they could go back and review it and if whoever is in it hasn’t consented, it will never go back up, but if after review both people have consented the footage is still there to get put back on the platform.

“But I think if something gets to the level where you say this is me in a sexually explicit act and I have not given permission, it should be paused that day, not in four to six days.”

-For further advice on how to get explicit online material removed, contact the Revenge Porn Helpline on 0345 6000 459.