In a statement last Friday, Google announced that they would honor requests to take down nude or sexually explicit photos that were uploaded without the victim’s consent from their search results. They stated that they would treat these images in a manner similar to other highly private information, like banking numbers or signatures. It’s definitely a huge step against the exploitation and harm that these image can cause. Unfortunately, Google admits that this doesn’t actually solve the problem of revenge porn, since the content will still exist on the sites themselves.
Although Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and now Google have taken steps against the disgusting practice and offenders have faced legal consequences, legal scholar Mary Anne Franks of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) and California Representative Jackie Speier are calling for a federal bill to outlaw all nonconsensual pornography. Franks and her team have worked to ban revenge porn in many states, but are now calling for a national ban. The bill, which has been in the works for a year, will be introduced next month to form a “concrete, clear definition of what nonconsensual pornography is.” Speier, in an statement to The Daily Dot, says about the bill:
Our laws haven’t yet caught up with this crime. If you’re a celebrity, you can pay a high-priced lawyer to demand that websites take your picture down, but for an average person, the current system offers almost no recourse. We already punish the unauthorized disclosure of private information like medical records and financial identifiers. Why should personal images of one’s naked body, given in confidence, be any different?
It’s great to see the CCRI continue awesome their work in helping victims of revenge porn and making offenders accountable!
(via Business Insider and The Daily Dot, Image via Valerie on Flickr)
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