In interviews, several plaintiffs’ lawyers said the current online environment was already deterring potential clients from filing suit. Now a Google search can forever portray even a successful litigant as “the complainer, or the slut who allegedly slept with the boss,” as Danielle Citron, a University of Maryland law professor, put it. Those who have suffered privacy violations, like nude pictures posted online, risk making the original damage worse if they sue, since courts are generally reluctant to allow plaintiffs to file anonymously.