Google removes thousands of nude pictures of celebrities

According to sources, the web giant said in a statement that it has deleted tens of thousands of photos within hours of requests being made and has closed hundreds of accounts.

The action was taken after reports Hollywood entertainment lawyer Marty Singer has threatened to sue Google for violating privacy.

The New York Post published a letter addressed to senior staff at Google stating that Google failed to act expeditiously, and responsibly to remove the images and was perpetuating the despicable conduct of these habitual pervert predators.

In his letter, Marty Singer said, the female stars would seek damages for Google’s ‘blatantly unethical behaviour’ and ‘knowingly accommodating, facilitating, and perpetuating the unlawful conduct’ of the hackers.

The high profile lawyer added: “Google knows the images are hacked stolen property, private and confidential photos and videos unlawfully obtained and posted by pervert predators who are violating the victims’ privacy rights”.

In response, Google said: “Our turnaround is generally hours, not weeks.

“Of course people continue to post these images on the web, so – like other online services – we rely on people notifying us to help us take them down, whether by flagging content, or filing DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) requests.”

Other celebs to be targeted by cyber thieves are Kate Upton, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and horror star Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Pitch Perfect actress Anna Kendrick has also reportedly had photos of herself fully-clothed published on Reddit and 4Chan.

According to Mr Singer’s legal document, some of the photos have also turned up on YouTube and Blogspot, owned by Google.

Google said: “We’re removing these photos for community guidelines and policy violations (eg nudity and privacy violation) on YouTube, Blogger and Google+.