Hunter Moore, owner of controversial blog IsAnyoneUp.com, has closed the website, selling its domain to an anti-bullying group BullyVille.com
IsAnyoneUp.com had been encouraging people to send in intimate pictures of ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends for more than a year.
Hunter Moore said the decision to close was made to “to stand up for under-age bullying”.
New owner BullyVille.com said: “IsAnyoneUp.com served no public good. That is why it is offline.”
In an interview with ABC’s Nightline, BullyVille’s founder James McGibney added: “No doubt, [Hunter Moore] was the No.1 internet bully out there and we took him down… not a hostile takeover but in a politically correct way.”
It is unclear how much, if anything, the domain changed hands for.
IsAnyoneUp.com, which featured pictures of men and women in many countries across the world would publish the unwilling subject’s full name and link to social networking profiles.
During its time online, Hunter Moore’s site attracted more than 300,000 hits a day – earning him up to $20,000 every month from advertising revenues.
Subjects, whose pictures were published without their permission, were often ridiculed, with many forced to shut down their various social networking profiles.
Hunter Moore, 26, who lives in Los Angeles, used the IsAnyoneUp brand to sell merchandise and promote club nights.
Prior to the site’s closure, he had planned to launch a mobile app and accompanying social network.
Hunter Moore, who employed four people to help him administer the site, would refuse to remove the pictures, even if threatened with legal action.
In September 2011, the site was served a cease and desist letter by Facebook, threatening Hunter Moore with legal action over featuring screenshots from the networking site.
Hunter Moore published the letter on his blog, apparently ignoring the request. He has claimed he sent Facebook’s lawyers a picture of his genitals in reply.
Facebook would not comment on the issue. However, users are prevented from sharing links to the website, in line, Facebook said, with its policy on pornography.
The IsAnyoneUp.com domain now redirects to a page on Bullyville.com featuring Hunter Moore’s announcement and a statement from Bullyville’s James McGibney.
“There are millions of women and men who are thankful that IsAnyoneUp.com is no longer online,” James McGibney wrote.
“Lawyers and massive companies have tried unsuccessfully to remove it from the internet. Bullyville was able to work with Hunter to get this done.”
Hunter Moore blamed the “drama” of receiving submitted content involving under-age subjects as one of the key reasons for wanting to close down the site.
He said: “The site was a blessing for me and still is, but I am burned out and I honestly can’t take another under-age kid getting submitted and having to go through the process of reporting it and dealing with all the legal drama of that situation.”
Hunter Moore announced a new project named We Party For A Cause, a site which organizes events to raise money for various charities.
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