Meta has announced some new safety updates for Safer Web Day, together with the enlargement of its “Take it Down” program, serving to customers cease the unfold of their intimate pictures on-line, a brand new information to assist teenagers keep away from “sextortion”, and new useful resource prompts to help customers in want.
First off, Meta’s working with the Nationwide Middle for Lacking & Exploited Kids (NCMEC) to develop its “Take it Down” initiative, which supplies a easy, privacy-friendly method to deal with the unfold of intimate pictures on-line.
Initially launched in February last year, Take it Down allows customers to create digital signatures of their pictures, which may then be used to seek for copies on-line.
As defined by Meta:
“People can go to TakeItDown.NCMEC.org and follow the instructions to submit a case that will proactively search for their intimate images on participating apps. Take It Down assigns a unique hash value – a numerical code – to their image or video privately and directly from their own device. Once they submit the hash to NCMEC, companies like ours can use those hashes to find any copies of the image, take them down and prevent the content from being posted on our apps in the future.”
To this point, the choice has been made out there in English and Spanish, however now, Meta and NCMEC are increasing this system to many extra international locations and languages.
It might be a invaluable software in addressing situations of revenge porn, and the key trauma that may include it. Limiting the hurt of such can have a big impact, and it’s good to see Meta increasing this system to extra areas.
Meta has additionally partnered with Thorn on a new guide for teens on how they’ll keep away from “sextortion” on-line.
“[The guide] provides teens with advice on how to take back control if someone is sextorting them. It also includes advice for parents and teachers on how to support their teens or students if they’re affected by these scams.”
It’s one other space of important concern, and offering extra sources and knowledgeable steerage can solely be of profit.
Lastly, Meta’s additionally including some new security notices and alerts to assist customers keep away from potential scams in its apps.
As you’ll be able to see in these examples, the up to date prompts encourage customers to report any account that threatens to share their non-public pictures, whereas additionally offering direct hyperlinks to sources, like Take It Down, relying on the context.
These are good updates, which may have important profit, particularly given the vulnerability of younger customers in such conditions.
Which have turn out to be extra commonplace. Whether or not it is smart to adults or not, sharing intimate pictures is now an accepted approach by which teenagers join, and with that comes important threat.
Which is why all social apps want to supply instruments alongside related traces, and Meta, proper now, might have essentially the most complete toolset for this component.
You’ll be able to be taught extra about Meta’s newest teen security updates here.
