WHAT’S GOING ON
Facebook is taking more steps to reduce the spread of revenge porn, aka non-consensually shared intimate photos. On Wednesday, Facebook announced it will be introducing new tools to flag revenge porn content on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
Mark Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post, “We’re focused on building a community that keeps people safe. That means building technology and AI tools to prevent harm.”
Revenge what?
Revenge porn is when someone publicly posts intimate photos or videos of another person previously sent in private.
Whether the pictures were acquired consensually in the first place is also an issue.
This is a huge breach of privacy and can do serious psychological damage to the person whose photos were leaked.
A BRIEF HISTORY
For years, people have been using Facebook and other social media to post revenge porn. Recent cases have brought the problem to the general public’s attention. In March, several Marines used Facebook to share naked and private photos of women in the Marines.
This brought about a Defense Department investigation and congressional hearing, bringing national attention to a troubling social media phenomenon.
However, the Marines scandal certainly isn’t the only time Facebook has been used for revenge porn.
It’s just one of the more prominent cases.
Last year, the social-media site was sued after a naked picture of an underage girl continued to resurface even though it had been flagged. The defendant’s lawyers argued Facebook did not take enough steps to keep the image off the site.
HOW IT WORKS
Facebook’s new tools hope to prevent this issue. Users can report inappropriate images to Facebook’s staff.
Once a photo is flagged, it goes to a staff member who determines if it violates Facebook’s policies.
If so, the photo is removed and the user who posted it typically has their account suspended.
This is usually where the policing stops. In the past, removed photos could be reposted. The new tools will use photo-matching to ensure flagged photos will not be reposted after removal.
By utilizing artificial intelligence and image recognition, Facebook hopes to prevent images from spreading once they’ve been removed.
Images that have been removed will now be blocked from any future posting. Additionally, accounts attempting to post removed photos will be considered for removal.
OKAY BUT…
It’s great that Facebook is making an effort, but the burden still mostly falls on the victims or other users. If the images are shared in a private group or message, it’s less likely to be flagged or reported. This was the case with the Marines, who were sharing photos in a private group.
Facebook has not yet made it clear how they will address images shared in private groups or their Messenger app. Working to combat abuse on social media is a step in the right direction though.
#Progress
