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Facebook Launches New Tools To Help Prevent 'Revenge Porn'

One of the new tools is photo-recognition technology to help block already-flagged photos from being uploaded again.
Posted at 3:05 PM, Apr 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-06 15:05:48-04

Facebook has announced it's going to fight "revenge porn."

That's the common name given to intimate or sensitive photos posted without someone's consent. Celebrities have been very public victims, but everyday individuals are hurt as well.

Last year, a research institute reported 4 percentof internet users have been victims of revenge porn.

Here's what Facebook plans to do: First, you can report an image that was posted on Facebook without your permission. Then photo-matching technology will let the company know if someone tries to post that same image elsewhere on the site or even on other Facebook properties.

Similar tools will be used for Instagram and Facebook's Messenger.

This announcement comes after news broke that 30,000 people were part of a private Facebook photo-sharing ring that targeted female U.S. Marines.

But because Facebook will still be relying on users to report revenge porn, some have noted the new process may not help victims, like those female Marines, who don't have access to where their photos are being shared.