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Facebook: Send us all your nudes, so we can block their distribution

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 09 Nov 2017 2:42 User comments (4)

Facebook: Send us all your nudes, so we can block their distribution

Facebook has released a feature in Australia that sounds more like a teenage boys' prank than a real feature. Company asks people who are worried that their intimate pictures and videos might get to wrong hands to send them all to Facebook.
The logic behind this bit unorthodox request is that Facebook would then scan all the photos, create digital fingerprints out of them and when somebody is distributing pictures with same digital fingerprint, Facebook would prevent them doing so. This could apply to all Facebook-owned properties, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook and Instagram.

Company has seemingly good intentions: so-called revenge porn has become a major problem in online world. A situation where after an ugly breakup, the other half of the disbanded relationship distributes the couple's intimate videos and pictures is all too common nowadays. Facebook has taken steps to prevent this in the past, too: company has used facial recognition to block such behaviour and has also shut down accounts found guilty of distributing unauthorized pictures.



But to send all the intimate photos and videos to Facebook? Company claims that they'll delete the material after digital fingerprint has been created. But we only have Facebook's word for it. And obviously, if there are copies left somewhere in their servers, it opens up endless possibilities for hackers to get their hands to material that can be used for extortion.

Company states that hashing can be done without sending the actual material to their servers, but you'll still have to grant them access to process the files in order to create the digital fingerprints/hashes.

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4 user comments

19.11.2017 12:08

Revenge porn isn't a problem what-so-ever!

Perhaps those engaging in amorous activities should keep the voyeurism out. Dick picks, naked pics, anyone and I mean ANYONE sending these deserves to be ridiculed publicly and shamed. Don't care if you're sending them to your significant other........it's classless, uncool and has bad ramifications.

Learn people learn! Coddling and political correctness isn't the answer here. Common sense and logic is.



As for this B.S. request from FB.............the very same company and willfully sold off hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising to the Russians, this is tantamount to Amazon dropping packages off INSIDE YOUR F*CKING HOUSE!

Can you say "INSANE"?

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 09 Nov 2017 @ 12:11

210.11.2017 12:43

While I see your point I feel it is a little harsh.

I also feel it is important to point out that Revenge porn dose not need to be something you new existed.

I do feel that Facebook's request is not something I would even consider for myself.

312.11.2017 11:35

There were already tools in place to allow reporting of images like this...the change here (in theory) is that if you know your images are going to get leaked, you can do the leak yourself...and that way only one person at facebook sees them, instead of everyone on your ex's feed.

Seems a bit self-defeating, as it's pretty rare that someone knows pictures will be leaked, and it's not likely that they have copies of every image either.

I'm thinking a company the size of Facebook would be able to make some sort of automated system for thi. Either their current setup but facebook employees only look if someone says they are not porn, or something with machine vision that would flag images that seem to have NSW content that would not go public until someone reviewed them.

The fact that Facebook now actually has a division dedicated to looking at revenge porn all day is pretty disturbing. The fact that they now want potential victims to give them far more images than would have been posted is pretty disturbing. The fact that by submitting these images, Facebook rules mean that you are giving facebook ownership of those images too; and they can do whatever they like with them...that's really disturbing. And then there is the collected data and security angle. There will be public-facing servers full of naked pictures that are linked to particular users...and there is no such thing as a secure public-facing server.

So yeah...all pretty screwed up. I appreciate that someone at Facebook wanted to do something about revenge porn, but the implementation is just insane.

413.11.2017 05:37

I don't see this going over too well.

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