Facebook asks UK Users to Upload Nudes to stop Revenge Porn

Facebook has been asking users in Britain to submit their nude photographs.

While an unusual and unexpected move from the social media giant, it is one that it insists is part of a new strategy to tackle revenge porn.

The social network is running the trial to block intimate images or videos before they are shared online.

Working in partnership with Revenge Porn Helpline UK, the network will block anyone from sharing the images or videos you submit to them.

According to a BBC report, the Revenge Porn Helpline has seen an increase in reported incidents since its inception in 2015.

During 2017, the hotline received more than 1,000 reports, the number doubling over five years.

In 2015, new legislation in England and Wales criminalised revenge porn.

This meant that those convicted could face up to two years in prison. However, the legislation hasn’t helped contain the problem as expected.

Facebook’s counterintuitive plan is not a new strategy though.

This unorthodox approach to tackling the sharing of nonconsensual content online was piloted in Australia in late 2017.

The social network will expand this exercise to the United States and Canada, working with rights groups there.

How does this Algorithm from Facebook Work?

Antigone Davis, Facebook’s Global Head of Safety said in a post on May 22, 2018:

“It’s demeaning and devastating when someone’s intimate images are shared without their permission, and we want to do everything we can to help victims of this abuse.

“We’re now partnering with safety organizations on a way for people to securely submit photos they fear will be shared without their consent, so we can block them from being uploaded to Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.”

For those who have shared a nude or intimate photograph or video with someone and want to prevent it from being shared online, here’s what you need to do.

Contact the Revenge Porn Helpline and submit the video or image via a secure, one-time-upload link.

We're delighted to be working with @facebook on their new pilot project fighting against image-based sexual abuse. You can find out more information by reading Facebook's statement- https://t.co/hQbijfsE0o or by contacting us on help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk

— RevengePorn Helpline (@RPhelpline) May 22, 2018

Trained members of Facebook’s Community Operations Safety Team will then receive this.

Facebook’s server automatically deletes this data in seven days.

A digital fingerprint of the pictures is then created which allows the social network to automatically block the image or video on Instagram or Messenger.

It is important to note here that this fingerprint, called hashing, stays saved on the server, even if the photo itself is deleted from Facebook.

Weighing the Strategy

Childnet International says that 51% of teens in the UK have witnessed people their age circulating nude or nearly nude images of someone they know, also referred to as ‘revenge porn’, while 6% have been the target of this behaviour.

Much of the sharing and shaming we speak of happens on Facebook.

The company has been sued several times for hosting revenge porn. One such case is that of a 14-year-old girl in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A naked picture of her was shared on a ‘shame page’ on Facebook.

While legislation looks to tackle the issue after the damage has been done, a more pre-emptive approach is being fashioned here.

The social network has worked on countless algorithms to flag and remove problem images the minute they hit the net.

The digital fingerprint concept means that slight changes to the colour, watermarks or crops will not change the image’s unique identity. Removing these potentially damaging images seems easier, on paper.

Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

“They’re not storing the image. They’re storing the link and using artificial intelligence and other photo-matching technologies.”

The problem with something like revenge porn is the categorisation of content online.

The Guardian explains that a lot of revenge porn is just mislabeled non-revenge porn.

Facebook has a system to flag content very strictly. Companies with slightly less strict parameters won’t be able to eliminate images because of this categorisation.

Facebook thus calls people, women in particular, to pre-emptively submit their nudes to the company. This is so that it knows to seek these out and prevent the consequences of a silly ex’s spiteful decision.

Should you be Worried?

Yes, if you take the word of privacy advocates world over.

Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch said:

“Facebook asking women to send nude photos is dangerous and deranged. It’s a global intelligence database that has proved it can’t protect people’s data.

“The question is not only whether Facebook can be trusted with naked photos, but whether it can be trusted with personal data at all.”

Antigone Davis published a blog post explaining the thought behind the strategy. However, it throws open more questions than answers.

For instance, what happens to videos and images taken that a potential victim does not have, and how does this protect them or nip their distribution in the bud?

The move has also been criticised for a lack of sensitivity towards victims of revenge pornography.

Dealing with public distribution of intimate photos or videos is traumatic. How is Facebook going to make it easier for women to live through the process again?

In addition, how does the company alleviate fears of this information being misused?

The Facebook post announcing the decision has been met with angry reactions from users.

Facebook is still picking itself up from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Consequentially, they don’t have as strong as a case as they would have liked.

One can’t dismiss the company altogether though. It would be far worse to go public with a brittle algorithm. Another mistake could potentially damage the company’s prospects lethally.

Meanwhile, those at risk of revenge porn will have to consider themselves whether uploading nudes to Facebook is the solution they are looking for.