THE LEGAL ABERRATION OF THE SERVICE CONTRACT IN THE CYBERCULTURE UNDERWORLD

Abstract

Contextualization: The concept of the underworld of cyberculture refers to technological bases, governed by hidden owners, organized under a cybercultural oligopoly regime, structured on sites of pornography, webcamming, and erotic packs. The harmful effects — in Brazil and worldwide — of this mentioned underworld are directly related to violence against women. To date, investigations and denunciations against the unacceptable corporate negligence of this business model are scarce. Furthermore, discussions on the subject focus on sex work online, that is, reflections on who consumes erotic content and/or who produces it. The systemic violence of the foreman system (hidden bosses and foremen) in the sector against women is not captured by this approach. It is important to note that the underworld of cyberculture operates based on a business model abandoned by the global legal system, whose service provision contract conditions the victim to authorize — free of charge and without any burden, in a total, definitive, irrevocable, and irretractable manner — the use of their image, data collection, and sharing of personal information on erotic websites, holding themselves responsible for any moral, sexual, patrimonial, and/or existential damage suffered on the platform. In advertising, all violence against women is deliberately confused with "women's empowerment". Misinformation about the modus operandi of this industry in cyberspace spreads the risk of confusing lifelong imprisonment with sexual freedom. The seriousness of the matter is beyond question.

Objectives: The aim is to bring the secretive operations of the cyberculture underworld to the university customs with the purpose of reading the terms of service and media discourses of the sector with due awareness. It is understood that the cyberculture underworld was not foreseen by Brazilian legal institutes. However, the principles defining violence against women, misuse of image, and exploitation of content by digital media are present in Brazilian legislation. Therefore, there is a need to initiate a debate on how to hold the masterminds of the companies that control the adult underworld accountable on the network.

Methodology: To conduct the study on violence against women in the cyberculture underworld, the methodology of this article involves a review of academic literature in association with content analysis of social media in light of Brazilian legal institutes and international treaties to which Brazil is a signatory: Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988, Brazilian Civil Code, Brazilian Penal Code, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Marco Civil da Internet (Law No. 12,965/2014), Maria da Penha Law (Law No. 11,340/2006), and General Data Protection Law (LGPD/ Law No. 13,709/2018). The objective is to identify patterns, inconsistencies, and attempts to dissuade or cover up the irregularity of the service provision contract of the Brazilian website Câmera Privê/OnCam/Transaciona through the advertising communication proposed in the company's Twitter profile.

Results: Considering the known fraction of the phenomenon, it is observed that the current research has made discoveries of significant relevance to the field of Legal Sciences through the investigation of how the adult underworld operates in Brazil and worldwide. The path of ideological domination of individuals by large oligopolies and its relationship with the cold calculation of consumption metrics is not an invention of the underworld. The novelty of this research focuses on unveiling a specific violent systemic mechanism that has not even been mapped out until now. Considering that technological advancement is exponential and inevitable, the lack of legislation contributes to the rise of perverse vectors in the adult industry.