What constitutes Extortion?

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Threatening requires communicating. You need specific intent for all elements of the offence i.e. you threaten in order to coerce an action, toleration or omission for profit. It is unlikely that you manage to communicate that when you are completely passive.

Now, of course I totally believe that despite your protestations you do want to publish the pics and want money from Splunge for not doing it - and merely try to do it sly by not voicing it explicitly - as long as you leave it there that would be a thought crime, which is not a criminal act. But you can't fool me, NOG: Where do you have the photos?

 

I guess you could put out an ad on a site like e-bay -- nude photos of Splunge available -- $50,000 OBO. Then he'd likely find out about it but I wouldn't have directly contacted him so no threat was made, but yet he'd have a chance to bid on the pics.

 

At least here in Sweden, you're allowed to take pictures in public places, but as soon as the pictures are in *any* commercial use, you need a written consent from the people pictured therein. Usually this means a formal modeling contract, although it's quite possible (and common) to state that no one in the picture gets paid.

I've seen dozens upon dozens of such contracts at work as a part of the formalia involved. I'd imagine there being a large grayish area with only spoken on implied contracts being made, but if formalia is to be called upon it can easily be "arranged" in most cases. For example, I've personally modeled for a few technical drawings (f.ex on how to use a chainsaw properly) but to my knowledge I have never signed anything but its implied through my job contract.

So, relating back to LKD's question: I guess it becomes extortion at the very moment when the person who has taken the pictures asks or implies that there's a payment involved, while the subject of the picture has objections to such payment. With a suitably large gray zone of "come on kids, time for sandbox quarrels is over" ambiguity.

 

Ah, but let's say for a second that it went to court. That I offered the photos to Alpaca Weekly, that Splunge heard about it from a fellow Alpaca lover that worked there, and that he made me an offer (unsolicited) to procure the photos himself. If I take the offer, and he charged me with extortion, would you say it was a strong case, a weak but viable one, or something to be immediately tossed out?

 

A toss, imo