Woman taunted over online sex video commits suicide

The suicide of a woman who battled for months to have a sex video removed from the internet has led to an outpouring of grief and anger in Italy over online shaming and revenge porn.

Tiziana Cantone, 31, was found dead at her aunt’s home in Mugnano, close to Naples in the country’s south, on Tuesday. Her funeral procession was televised as commentators grappled with the tragic outcome of her torment.

Cantone’s death came a year after she sent a sex video of herself to some friends including an ex-boyfriend.

The video was subsequently posted on the web and viewed almost a million times. The phrase “You’re filming? Bravo”, spoken to her lover in the video, became a derisive joke online and was printed on T-shirts, smartphone cases and other items.

In a bid to escape the humiliation Cantone quit her job, moved to Tuscany and tried to change her name.

After a long court battle she won a “right to be forgotten” ruling ordering the video to be removed from various sites and search engines including Facebook.

But she was also ordered to pay €20,000 in legal costs, in what several Italian media outlets dubbed a final insult.

“Why are these images still there? Why can people still mock and laugh at this young woman who ended her days because of this humiliation that she suffered?” wrote Naples daily Il Mattino.

Prosecutors in Naples have opened an investigation into “incitement to suicide”, while reports said four men were being investigated.