Could the Stephen Bear case be a catalyst for change?

Poppy Lindsey

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Since Stephen Bear was convicted of a range of sex offences on 3^rd March 2023, there’s been a huge amount of discussion around his crimes. News outlets flooded the headlines with reports on the proceedings, social media went wild in support for victim Georgia Harrison. The question I find myself asking, though: will anything change? I think it’s a case of talk but no walk. Action is needed to really change the culture in society around sex and our sexual rights, and I don’t think we’ll be getting any.

Stephen Bear’s crimes

Back in 2020, Georgia Harrison, Bear’s fellow reality TV star, was filmed via CCTV having intercourse with Bear in his garden. Upon finding out about the footage, Harrison alleges that she told her former partner “it would completely ruin my life and ruin his career and if he was to send it to anyone it’s revenge porn and you can go to prison for revenge porn”.

Despite Harrison’s clear insistence that the film could go no further than the two of them, she was informed by an ethical hacker that Bear was selling the footage on the subscription site OnlyFans.

Fast-forward to March 2023, and Bear has been found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photographs and films.

I doubt many people would agree with what Stephen Bear did to Georgia Harrison, and the general consensus online was in support of the victim. But is anyone willing to act to reduce the chance of this happening to other people? In particular, are the authorities responsible for keeping us safe on social media going to use the Bear versus Harrison case as a catalyst for change?

Official commentary 

“This is a case of non-consensual behaviour – the intercourse was consensual, the distribution of the footage online for profit was not”

To truly increase protection for social media users, there needs to be a level of governmental involvement, but we are yet to hear comment from the likes of Ofcom or the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. If presiding regulators such as these are not recognising this case of revenge porn, the necessary extension of this result into social media regulation is unlikely to become a national priority. This is a case of non-consensual behaviour – the intercourse was consensual, the distribution of the footage online for profit was not – and it must be stamped out by the people who provide access to social media platforms.

There has, however, been in some places a push for increased monitoring of image-sharing sites. Eleanor Leedham, a solicitor specialising in data protection and technology law, stated that many public websites, including OnlyFans, had “inadequate checks and processes to prevent the upload of illegal images”, urging the government to use the online safety bill to force adult websites “to clean up their act.”

Risking over-regulation?

Unfortunately, the benefits of clamping down on what is shared on the internet are met with a whole host of concerns. In recent months, major news outlets have faced criticism over unjust censorship. For instance, fears were raised when the BBC announced it was not broadcasting an episode of Sir David Attenborough’s new series over fears of right-wing backlash, with many claiming the government was censoring material unnecessarily. If measures for online safety are increased, does this give regulators an opportunity to unreasonably remove content?

“The case unsurprisingly gained media traction, but no tangible action is yet to take place – how many cases will it take?”

Coupled with fears for increased censorship is the lack of consistency among social media platforms with regard to regulation. TikTok’s Community Guidelines remove any content featuring underage drinking, threats to minor safety, dangerous acts and challenges, threats to integrity and authenticity. . . the list goes on. Influencers often complain about having videos unfairly removed, and find ways to bypass the system by using means like code words.

However, switch over to Twitter and it seems anything goes. Stephen Bear’s current girlfriend, Jessica Smith, posts pictures and videos featuring complete nudity and sexual acts, which at the time of writing are yet to be taken down for violating any guidelines. If regulators are to crack down on what is uploaded to social media sites, they will surely be required to create a standard for what is and is not accepted across the board.

Overall, unfortunately, it feels like wishful thinking that the Stephen Bear case will be used as a catalyst for change in social media regulation. The case unsurprisingly gained media traction, but no tangible action is yet to take place – how many cases will it take?

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Featured image courtesy of Tingey Injury Law Firm via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.