Influencer Ordered to Pay $20,000 For Refusing to Remove Video of Woman

Influencer Ordered to Pay $20,000 For Refusing to Remove Video of Woman

A smiling man in a green tank top flexes his arms while two people on either side pretend to kiss his biceps. They are outside at night under bright lights.
Sherif Elbishlawi

An influencer has been fined 20,000 Canadian dollars ($14,200) after he repeatedly posted intimate images of a woman he barely knew.

Sherif Elbishlawi, who goes by @vibr0phone online, has an Instagram page where he physically picks up women and bicep curls them in such a way that their bottoms are exposed to the camera. He has over 100,000 followers.

But according to Castanet, one woman he met outside of a nightclub initially agreed that Elbishlawi could lift her up but then asked him not to post the video.

The case was heard by British Columbia’s Civil Resolution Tribunal. The woman, who is identified only as Z.D., says she was drunk at the time and that Elbishlawi ignored her requests to take the video down or insisted on meeting her in person. “I don’t do favours for strangers,” he reportedly told Z.D.

Meta took the video down and suspended Elbishlawi from Facebook and Instagram. However, the content creator made new accounts and reposted the video.

“It appears [Elbishlawi] used the videos to gain social media exposure, while not motivated by an intent to cause harm, I find the possibly exploitative nature of this conduct troubling,” says Maria Montgomery in her ruling.

“The applicant described humiliation and embarrassment that her videos were available to acquaintances that followed the respondent’s social media accounts. The applicant also says she felt anxiety about whether the videos would reappear and continually monitored [Elbishlawi’s] social media accounts.”

Montgomery notes that it is possible Elbishlawi generated revenue from the video via a paywalled site, similar to OnlyFans.

“In response to the requests to not post the videos, Elbishlawi either ignored those requests or insisted on meeting Z.D. in person first because, as he stated, ‘I don’t do favors for strangers.’ Elbishlawi has not apologized and maintains that he committed no wrongdoing,” Montgomery writes.

The tribunal awarded the woman 10,000 CAD for pain and suffering, given the impact of the videos and how many people watched them. A further 5,000 CAD was awarded for aggravated damages because of Elbishlawi’s conduct. While a further 5,000 CAD was awarded for punitive damages, this was given because Elbishlawi may have made money from the video and for reposting the videos even when Meta removed them.

“I am satisfied that the respondent’s conduct is deserving of rebuke and markedly departs from ordinary standards of decent behaviour,” Montgomery writes.

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