Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta, has launched a program recently called ‘Take It Down’ to curb the spread of “revenge porn”, also called non-consensual images or videos of teenagers on Facebook and Instagram.
Revenge porn results in the public humiliation of victims when their non-consensual explicit images or videos are publicly shared or viewed. According to the Meta Group, the practice has become rampant on social media, particularly among young boys.
The ‘Take it Down’ program is being operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which is concerned about the damage done by revenge porn, especially to teens or adults. It describes the situation as severe and can damage their reputation and familial relationships.
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How Meta “Take it Down” program works
‘Take It Down’ program is the first of its kind to prevent revenge porn. The program will allow children to anonymously attach a hash, or digital fingerprint, to pornographic photos or videos from their own devices without having to upload them to the program’s website.
To create the explicit image hash, they’re urged to install software onto their devices by visiting TakeItDown.NCMEC.org.
The anonymized number, not the image itself, will then be stored in a database linked to Meta so that if the photo is ever posted to Facebook or Instagram, it will be matched against the original, reviewed, and potentially removed.
Meta’s global safety director, Antigone Davis, stated the problem was important to the company as they see the damage done by revenge porn, which can be devastating to young people.
“This issue has been incredibly important to Meta for a very, very long time because the damage done is quite severe in the context of teens or adults,” said Antigone Davis, Meta’s global safety director. “It can do damage to their reputation and familial relationships and puts them in a very vulnerable position. It’s important that we find tools like this to help them regain control of what can be a very difficult and devastating situation.”
Similar StopNCII program
In 2021, Meta launched a similar program called StopNCll, a free tool designed to support victims of Non-Consensual Intimate Image (NCII) abuse by enabling them to generate a hash from their intimate image(s)/video(s).
Just like ‘Take it down’, the program uses the same Image hashing process of using an algorithm to assign a unique hash value to an image. Duplicate copies of the image will all have the exact same hash value, which is sometimes referred to as a ‘digital fingerprint’. Then StopNCII.org shares the hash with participating companies so they can help detect and remove the images from being shared online.
‘Take It Down’ is open to people under 18 years old, and parents or trusted adults can also use the platform on behalf of a young person.
NCMEC has reported a significant increase in the number of reports of online enticement, including “sextortion” and revenge porn since 2016. The number of reports more than doubled between 2019 and 2021, with 79% of offenders seeking money to keep photos offline in the last year alone. Social media has become a hotspot for these types of cases, leading Meta to take a strong stance against the proliferation of revenge porn on its platforms.