Google has joined Twitter in the war on "revenge porn" and online harassment, by launching a new policy to protect victims. The tech giant will remove nude photos and other private pics from Google Search results that were shared without people's personal consent, after receiving an official request.
Google Search vice president Amit Singhal stated that the tech company's philosophy is that its search engine should represent the entire Internet, according to New York Daily News. However, revenge porn pictures are very personal, "emotionally damaging," and shameful to victims.
Google will upload a link to its official blog that allows users to submit a request form to remove uploaded images. This mirrors its policy for removing very personal information, including bank account numbers
Google mentioned various disturbing stories that have been circulating the Web recently. They include stories of people using private pictures to humiliate ex-lovers, and hackers selling private images they stole from victims' online accounts.
Sometimes criminals even upload personal photos to "extortion" sites. They refuse to take down the embarrassing photos until the victim complies with their demand for money.
Singhal wrote that Google's latest action will not solve the problem of revenge porn because it cannot remove the explicit pics from the Internet sites. However, deleting such embarrassing photos from Google Search results is a start.
Several states have already passed revenge porn laws, making it an illegal practice, according to Mass Live. About 20 states have declared the act as various classes of misdemeanors or felonies.
Young people are highly at risk. The reason is that they are the biggest users of social media applications, such as Facebook and Instagram.