With the growing hatred in today’s world, the only solution that some individuals can think to curb their problems is the distribution of sexually explicit content. And the situation has worsened over the years as it has led to posting of sexual images and videos without the consent of all parties involved. This is called revenge porn and Facebook is today introducing new tools to further curb the spread of the same across its social networking platforms.
In 2012, Facebook first addressed the problem of revenge porn on the internet by updating its community standard guidelines. It has since been hard at work to develop tools to specifically tackle the re-sharing of explicit images on the platform. And today we’re being acquainted with the new tools as part of the company’s objective to focus on creating a social infrastructure and protecting each other from harm.
Since the community plays a pivotal role on Facebook, thus they’re now being shouldered with the task of reporting instances of such explicit posts on the platform. If you (or even the victim themselves) come across a piece of sexually explicit content uploaded without consent then you can then select Report under the downward arrow (menu) next to the post. Such posts will be reviewed by specially trained representatives from our Community Operations team.
These posts will be reviewed by specially trained representatives from our Community Operations team. And if the same is found to be in violation of community regulations, it would be instantly removed. Also, the blog post adds,
In most cases, we will also disable the account for sharing intimate images without permission. We offer an appeals process if someone believes an image was taken down in error.
Also, Facebook is deploying innovative photo-matching technologies to prevent the spread of intimate revenge porn images on its platforms — ranging from Facebook and Instagram to even Messenger. This will particularly be important to prevent re-sharing of such images from the same revengeful person. They’ll be alerted of the fact that the content being shared violates the guidelines and their latest attempt will be halted mid-way. This is a significant addition to the arsenal of smart tools integrated into Facebook.
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram or even Snapchat have become a part of our social fabric. It is actually quite difficult to ignore the impact of the content posted on these platform in our lives. And if the same are non-consensual intimate images then it can not only affect our personal but our professional lives as well.
According to a survey conducted with U.S victims of revenge porn, around 93% reported emotional distress (because their private life was made public). And around 82% percent people faced significant difficulty in social, occupational, and other avenues of their daily lives. Thus, the social media giant has partnered with several safety organizations to offer resources and support to the victims of such behavior.
Facebook worked closely with the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and other companies to create a safer environment on their social network. They’re now providing the victims and others with a robust set of tools and guides to report such instances. Also, the social media giant connected with over 150+ organizations and experts across the globe to secure feedback for its safety tools. The blog post continues to add,
Additionally, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Center for Social Research, the Revenge Porn Helpline (UK) and the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative provided input and feedback throughout the product-development process.
