Microsoft has announced new plans to help victims of "revenge porn" to remove sexually explicit content of themselves from its cloud services. The company has set up a new online web page that allows victims to easily let the company know about particular photos and videos that were uploaded to the cloud without their consent or knowledge.
"Revenge porn," for those unfamiliar, is a term for the publication of sensitive, usually explicit, images or videos of a person's ex-partner.
"When someone shares intimate images of another person online without that person’s consent, the effects can be truly devastating. These gross violations of privacy are commonly (and unartfully) referred to as 'revenge porn,'" explained Microsoft Chief Online Safety Officer Jacqueline Beauchere. "Unfortunately, revenge porn is on the rise across the globe. It can damage nearly every aspect of a victim’s life: relationships, career, social activities. In the most severe and tragic cases, it has even led to suicide."
"Much needs to be done to address the problem. As a first step, we want to help put victims back in control of their images and their privacy. That’s why Microsoft will remove links to photos and videos from search results in Bing, and remove access to the content itself when shared on OneDrive or Xbox Live, when we are notified by a victim," Beauchere continued.
While Microsoft will remove links to the photos and videos, the company notes that this doesn't actually remove the content from the internet. That is usually hosted somewhere else online, which is why the company is calling for stronger protections across the Web and around the world.
"Microsoft remains committed to continuing to work with leaders and experts worldwide on this evolving subject, and we expect to learn a great deal as the process moves forward. In the meantime, our hope is that by helping to address requests and to remove these extremely personal photos and videos from our services, we can better support victims as they work to re-claim their privacy, and help to push just a little further in the fight against this despicable practice."
Of course, the surest way to ensure no images or videos of you make their way online without your permission is to, you know, not take photos or videos. That being said, there are certain other situations where this type of material is obtained and for victims in that event, I wholeheartedly agree more needs to be done to stop that.
