Tag: StopNCII

Google has announced a partnership with the UK-based nonprofit StopNCII to enhance its efforts to prevent the involuntary dissemination of intimate images (NCII, also known as "revenge porn") through more advanced hash matching technology. This update will be rolled out gradually over the next few months, helping victims more effectively prevent their unwanted intimate images from appearing in Google search results. StopNCII primarily generates "image fingerprints" on the user's device, allowing users to select photos they want to prevent from being leaked. The system generates a unique hash value (digital fingerprint) for each image and uploads only the hash value to the StopNCII server, rather than directly uploading the original photo. Subsequently, if someone attempts to upload the same photo to the StopNCII server's partner platform, the system can automatically block it by comparing the hash value, even intercepting it before it is exposed, achieving real-time protection. However, this technology still has limitations; it can only prevent known images. If a victim does not have the original photo file for comparison, or encounters a newly leaked image, they will need to appeal through other channels. Furthermore, StopNCII does not yet support blocking AI-generated video, audio, or text content, and the system will also be ineffective if the images are distributed to non-partner platforms. Currently, multiple platforms, including Google, Meta, Reddit, Pornhub, OnlyFans, Snap, Microsoft Bing, and "X," have partnered with StopNCII to form a cross-platform protection network. In fact, Google established a revenge porn removal appeal process a decade ago and added a tool for removing deepfake intimate images in 2024. Google product manager Griffin Hunt stated that although multiple protective measures are in place, considering the scale of the open internet, it is still necessary to further reduce the burden on victims to handle these issues themselves.