Here’s Why You May Have To Send Facebook Nude Images Of Yourself In The Fight Against Revenge Porn

Facebook is asking users to send in nude photos of themselves for a reason and that is to combat revenge porn on its platform. So here’s the idea, if you think a bitter ex is circulating your photo(s) on Facebook, all you need to do is send a photo of yourself securely using Messenger to Facebook. They will in turn use image-matching technology to prevent photos of you being shared.

Well before you cry foul, it may interest you to know that the Australian government’s office of the eSafety Commissioner already says it’s on-board with the idea. It says “Adult Australians concerned that an intimate image may be shared online can complete an online form on the eSafety Commissioner’s official website detailing their concerns. Users will be asked to send the imagery to themselves on Messenger while the eSafety Commissioner’s office notifies Facebook of their submission.”

Facebook’s head of global safety Antigone Davis said “these tools, developed in partnership with global safety experts, are one example of how we’re using new technology to keep people safe and prevent harm”. It’s also interesting because the tool is applicable to all Facebook platforms including Instagram.

With respect to part that says you should send a nude image of yourself, Facebook hasn’t responded to that yes but the thing is, it’s likely at least for now that that’s how it has to be. Image matching technology profiles key contours of the human body and then using complex algorithms, matches this data to what has been inputted into it. In the case of using it prevent revenge porn, the software flags any image(s) matching what you sent which in turn means Facebook can block a further spread of the images while removing uploaded ones.

Facebook has over 2 billion users which means it’s going to be practically impossible for you to an efficient human oversight.

Australia seems to be embracing the idea faster than any other country because according to them, 1 in 5 Australians has faced online image abuse or revenge porn as it is popularly called. Julie Inman Grant who is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner said “This partnership gives Australians a unique opportunity to proactively inoculate themselves from future image-based abuse by coming to our portal and reporting tool.”

The programme is currently available in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom even as we expect that more countries will be added to the list in future. The menace of online image abuse is on the rise especially on the dark web where child pornography allegations are common. Such a tool is therefore a welcome idea but if you’re going to use Facebook’s image matching technology, please make sure you are the only person who has access to your account to avoid them from being stolen by someone else. Also after sending, you might want to delete it from your device as well.