The World Wide Defender
Marie Claire - US|The Identity Issue 2023
As the go-to lawyer for victims of internet injustices, Carrie Goldberg has become every creep’s worst nightmare.
NEHA PRAKASH
The World Wide Defender

Victims' rights attorney Carrie Goldberg has all the makings of a bonafide superhero. An inconceivable origin story involving a vengeful ex, a stolen identity, and Goldberg's own wrongful arrest. Diabolical villains in the form of "psychos, pervs, and trolls." And her catchphrase? "I sue rapists." (She already has the merch to match.)

Her undeniable superpower is defending identities, which Goldberg's honed for the better part of the past decade, blazing a trail in privacy justice litigation. The 45-year-old, along with a small-yet mighty law firm, helps victims of internet crimes (think: cyberstalking, sextortion, and defamation) get protection, while simultaneously challenging big-bad tech Goliaths (think: dating apps, social media sites) to take legal accountability for the abuses they allow to happen on their digital turf.

Speaking from her Brooklyn-based headquarters, Goldberg-wrapped in a bubblegum pink blanket (let's call it a cape)-shares advice on what to do if you find yourself being targeted by an offender; what she fears will be the next frontier of internet identity crime; and reminds us that with great technological power comes great responsibility.

How would you explain what your practice does?

My law firm focuses on gender-based violence and on people who have been the victims of catastrophic injuries. Usually when we think about catastrophic injuries, you're thinking about somebody who's been physically traumatized. But most of our cases pertain to sexual and emotional trauma-people who've been sexually assaulted; whose lives have been taken over on the internet.

How did you get into this type of law?

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