Facebook wants you to send nudes — for a good reason.
The social network announced on Tuesday it is testing a new initiative to fight “revenge porn,” in which it will allow its users to “proactively” upload scandalous pictures so it can block them from being posted. (If you’re lucky enough to have never heard of revenge porn, it’s a phenomenon in which someone posts images of a former sexual partner online without his or her consent.)
Here’s how it works: Facebook users can reach out to several groups the company has partnered with, including the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and The National Network to End Domestic Violence, and ask for a review form. Users will upload pictures to a “secure, one-time upload link,” which will then be reviewed by a “handful of specially trained members of our Community Operations Safety Team,” according to Facebook.
The safety team will then create a digital fingerprint, or hash, of the pictures, allowing Facebook to automatically block any of the pictures if they’re uploaded on the site. The pictures will also be blocked from being posted on Instagram and Messenger. The pictures users share with Facebook will be deleted from its servers after “no later than seven days.”
“It’s demeaning and devastating when someone’s intimate images are shared without their permission, and we want to do everything we can to help victims of this abuse,” Facebook Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis said in a post.
Despite the good intentions, the new idea might make some users hesitant, given that Facebook is still emerging from the Cambridge Analytica data-leak scandal. Davis said her team has traveled to several countries and seen the severe impact revenge porn has had, especially on women. That spurred Facebook to roll out the new initiative.
“From anxiety and depression to the loss of a personal relationship or a job, this violation of privacy can be devastating. And while these images, also referred to as ‘revenge porn’ or ‘non-consensual pornography,’ harm people of all genders, ages and sexual-orientations, women are nearly twice as likely as men to be targeted,” said Davis.
If you want to share your pics with Facebook, the test is starting now for users in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.