Overview

• Phica.net issued a public apology, said it failed to curb toxic behavior, and announced it will close and permanently delete offending material.
• Italian police said they are investigating following hundreds of complaints tied to the forum’s posting and manipulation of women’s images.
• Eurodeputy Alessandra Moretti filed a criminal complaint after finding hundreds of her photos uploaded since 2014, and other politicians signaled plans to report the site and seek a parliamentary debate.
• Images on the forum included photos taken from social media and photomontages, organized into categories that invited sexist, vulgar and violent commentary targeting figures such as Giorgia Meloni, Arianna Meloni and Elly Schlein, as well as actresses, influencers and private citizens.
• The platform operated since 2005 and was reported to have hundreds of thousands of registered users, and its closure follows the takedown of the Facebook group “Mia Moglie” and a petition that surpassed 150,000 signatures.