Google has insisted that it has removed "tens of thousands" of naked celebrity pictures following reported threats of an $100m lawsuit in connection with the leaks earlier this year.
The response comes after a letter from lawyer Martin Singer reportedly acting on behalf of unnamed celbrities accused the company of "making millions and profiting from the victimisation of women" on behalf of unnamed clients.
"We’ve removed tens of thousands of pictures – within hours of the requests being made – and we have closed hundreds of accounts, "The internet is used for many good things. Stealing people’s private photos is not one of them," a statement from Google read.
The lawyer claimed that many of the images involving celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst and Kate Upton could be viewed on the video host YouTube and blogging platform BlogSpot, both of which are owned by Google.
"Google knows the images are hacked stolen property, private and confidential photos and videos unlawfully obtained and posted by pervert predators who are violating the victims’ privacy rights," he said.
Since the original leaks more waves of images have been posted amid declining public interest in the matter, with the most recent victims rumoured to be the singers Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift.
