Facebook wants users to upload their intimate photos to protect them from revenge porn.
The company is working with safety organizations “on a way to allow people to securely submit photos they fear will be shared without their consent,” according to a post on the official Facebook Safety page. Antigone Davis, global head of safety, said the company is testing a “proactive reporting tool” in Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. this week.
The initiative encourages users to upload sexually explicit images in order to block other people from sharing them on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. The process will use a unique fingerprint known as a “hash” to tag the user-uploaded photos, which will identify and remove any circulating copies. The pilot program is similar to a tool Facebook rolled out in Australia last year to fight revenge porn.
The plan garnered criticism from some users, who expressed concern about their privacy and the security of the hash.
Sure, Facebook, I'll send you nude pics of me so your AI can analyze every part of my body and create a detailed model of me… so you can protect me.
— Federico Pistono (@FedericoPistono) May 24, 2018
Great idea. pic.twitter.com/cuwDTpyvvJ
https://twitter.com/kettlebellking/status/999480035814924288
Although the announcement doesn’t mention the company’s data scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, the move appears to be the latest in a string of attempts to improve user security and do damage control. Facebook recently suspended 200 apps over potential data misuse and made security updates to its two-factor authentication system.
H/T the Verge