Combating Technology-Driven Abuse: Supporting Survivors of Image Exploitation

As an advocate for survivors of domestic violence, I’ve observed that technology evolves consistently. However, the underlying patterns of abuse remain unchanged. Abusers find new methods to inflict harm, leveraging technological advancements.

Changing Technologies, Unchanging Patterns

In the 1980s, Polaroid cameras allowed abusers to capture exploitative images without needing a photo lab. During the 1990s, Caller ID enabled stalkers to track phone numbers, facilitating their pursuit of victims. In the 2010s, smart technology, including doorbell cameras and location apps, further empowered abusers to monitor and control individuals.

Currently, a concerning trend involves “nudify” and “kissing” apps, which use AI to generate fake intimate images of people without consent. This trend is spreading rapidly across the internet.

Legal and Emotional Impact

Posting or sharing someone’s intimate images, whether real or fake, without permission is often illegal and causes severe emotional distress. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by this issue.

Efforts are underway with safety teams to prevent these apps and related advertisements from proliferating online. AI assists these teams by improving content review processes, detecting content that disguises its intent through emojis and coded language.

Industry-Wide Responsibility

Tech companies must enhance prevention and reporting tools for survivors while collaborating with nonprofits and law enforcement. The industry continually devises innovative methods to identify and remove malicious content.

However, challenges persist. Behind every malicious website is a group of bad actors who continually seek ways to bypass safeguards. As the internet is without borders, responses must be cross-platform in nature.

Collaborative Efforts

Ongoing collaboration among tech companies, nonprofits, and civil society is crucial for preventing harm and supporting survivors. The Tech Coalition’s Lantern program exemplifies this by facilitating the sharing of URLs tied to violating sites, enabling collective action against these threats.

Raising awareness about tools to safeguard individuals is equally important. Every survivor and potential victim should know that resources exist for them to regain control. Platforms like StopNCII.org allow individuals to report non-consensual image sharing securely.

Legislative and Legal Actions

Supporting legislation such as the Take It Down Act is vital. This act has prompted companies to develop more tools to aid victims and report abusive content.

Pursuing legal action against creators and promoters of such content is also essential. For instance, Meta has initiated a lawsuit against Joy Timeline HK Limited for promoting apps that generate unauthorized explicit images.

Over the past year, Meta issued numerous cease and desist letters to companies advertising nudify apps. Legal steps play a crucial role in combating this form of abuse.

Continued Commitment to Safety

Founded 26 years ago, the Safety Net Technology Project aimed to curb the misuse of technology by abusers. After extensive work fighting gender-based violence in nonprofits, I joined the tech industry, where there’s a commitment to prioritizing intimate image abuse policies.

Persistent efforts are necessary to empower survivors and challenge exploiters. If threatened with online exposure of intimate images, resources are available on StopNCII.org and TakeItDown.NCMEC.org.

Cindy Southworth is Head of Women’s Safety at Meta and former Executive Vice President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. The opinions expressed here are her own.