At a Glance
- Hunter Moore founded the revenge-porn site IsAnyoneUp.com in 2010.
- He was arrested in 2014 on 15 counts and sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
- After release in 2017, he published a book and has remained largely private.
- Why it matters: Moore’s case highlights the legal and ethical consequences of revenge porn and the limits of online anonymity.
Hunter Moore made headlines for creating a website that posted non-consensual nude photos, leading to his arrest, imprisonment, and a controversial public persona. The story follows his rise, legal downfall, and life after prison.
Early Life and Rise to Infamy
Hunter Moore was born in March 1986 and grew up in Woodland Hills, California. He attended Woodland Christian School until he was allegedly kicked out, according to a report he shared with The Daily Beast. At 13, he dropped out of public school and began developing AOL Instant Messenger chatbots and learning photo editing.
Moore cited two formative teenage incidents: a heartbreak over a girl named Rachel at 15 and a sexual harassment lawsuit he filed after an alleged assault at a retail store. The lawsuit reportedly yielded a six-figure settlement that funded travel and eventually led him to New York City, where he worked as a hairstylist for a fetish pornography site and hosted sex parties.
IsAnyoneUp.com: The Platform
In 2010, Moore launched IsAnyoneUp.com, a site that allowed users to upload and view nude photos without consent. The site linked images to victims’ social media accounts and real names, sparking widespread harassment.
Moore explained his motivation to Rolling Stone in 2012:
> “How it started was I was having sex with this girl who was engaged to this kind of semi famous band guy, and all my friends wanted to see her naked because she was so cute,” he said.
Within a week the site attracted 14,000 unique visitors. By the next year, Moore told BBC News that the platform was drawing 300,000 visitors per day.
He admitted to initially refusing to post images of teachers, but later expanded the scope, rationalizing:
> “I realized that’s where all the traffic is. I have to pay my bills. I’m just a businessman. I just monetize people’s mistakes that they made and it’s kind of a shady business.”
In April 2012, BBC News reported that Moore sold the site to Bullyville, an anti-bullying website. He then launched an IsAnyoneUp-branded Tumblr account that hosted self-submitted nudes from followers.
Legal Troubles and Arrest
Moore’s activities attracted federal attention when a mother of a hacked victim, Charlotte Law, compiled evidence and turned it over to the FBI. The agency began investigating in January 2014.
Moore and accomplice Charles Evens were charged with 15 counts: one conspiracy, seven unauthorized access to a protected computer, and seven aggravated identity theft. According to the FBI, Moore paid Evens to hack accounts and obtain nude photos for publication.
Moore pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized access and one count of aggravated identity theft, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Both faced a mandatory two-year minimum sentence for identity theft and up to five years for hacking and conspiracy.
Sentencing and Imprisonment
In December 2015, the FBI announced that Moore received a 30-month sentence, while Evens received 25 months. Judge Dolly M. Gee described his conduct as “particularly reprehensible” and imposed a $2,000 fine.
Moore served his time and was released in 2017. He then underwent three years of supervised probation.
Post-Release Life
After prison, Moore published a book in 2018 titled Is Anyone Up? The Story of Revenge Porn. In a July 2022 interview, he expressed no remorse:
> “If there were any regrets, it’s that I didn’t go 10 times harder, that’s probably my only regret. If I’m being completely honest, I’m not here to cry a river…”
He also posted a response to Netflix’s The Most Hated Man on the Internet docuseries, criticizing the portrayal and claiming it omitted his alleged good deeds. Moore has largely stayed out of the public eye, using social media mainly to document his fitness journey.
Key Takeaways
- Hunter Moore built a platform that exploited non-consensual nudity, leading to a federal conviction.
- He served 30 months in prison and paid a $2,000 fine.
- Post-release, he published a book and remains a controversial figure, often reflecting on his past with minimal remorse.
- The case underscores the legal risks of revenge porn and the importance of protecting personal digital privacy.
