GoogleAnnouncewith UK non-profit organizationsStopNCIIGoogle is collaborating with Google to strengthen its efforts to prevent non-consensually distributed intimate images (NCII), also known as revenge porn, through more advanced hash matching technology. This update will be rolled out gradually over the coming months to help victims more effectively prevent unwanted intimate images from appearing in Google search results.
StopNCII mainly generates "image fingerprints" through the user end, allowing users to select photos on their devices that they want to prevent from being leaked. The system will generate a unique hash value (i.e., digital fingerprint) for the image and upload only the hash value to the StopNCII server instead of directly uploading the original photo. Afterwards, if an illegal person attempts to upload the same photo on the StopNCII server cooperation platform, the system can automatically block it after comparing the values, and can even intercept the image before it is exposed, achieving an immediate protection effect.
However, this technology still has its limitations, namely that it can only protect against known images. If the victim does not have the original photo file for comparison, or encounters a new image that has been leaked for the first time, they will need to file a complaint through other channels. In addition, StopNCII does not yet support blocking AI-generated images, voice, or text content. At the same time, if the image is streamed to a non-cooperative platform, the system will also be ineffective.
Currently, many platforms including Google, Meta, Reddit, Pornhub, OnlyFans, Snap, Microsoft Bing, "X" and others have cooperated with StopNCII to form a cross-platform protection network.
In fact, Google established a revenge porn removal appeals process a decade ago and added a removal tool for deepfakes in 2024. Google Product Manager Griffin Hunt stated that while multiple safeguards are in place, given the scale of the internet's openness, further efforts are needed to reduce the burden on victims to handle the issue themselves.
