As part of a new initiative aimed at improving online safety for women, Meta, the company that owns Facebook and its apps, announced several initiatives on Thursday, including an effort to prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate images.
Meta launched topNCII.org to prevent the spread of non-consensual intimate images (NCII), otherwise known as revenge porn. StopNCII.org, a partnership with UK Revenge Porn Helpline, builds on Meta’s NCII Pilot. This program allows potential victims to proactively hash their intimate images so they can’t spread across its platforms.
The idea is to create a secure digital fingerprint by assigning a unique hash value (a numerical code) to an image. Tech companies participating in StopNCII.org receive the hash and can use that hash to detect if someone has shared or is trying to share those images on their platforms. NCII.org is a first-of-its-kind platform, partnering with various Indian organizations such as Social Media Matters, Centre for Social Research, and Red Dot Foundation.
In addition to this, a Women’s Safety Hub has been launched in Hindi and 11 other Indian languages, enabling more women users in India to access information about tools and resources that can help them make the most of social media while staying safe.
All the safety resources women need to navigate the platform can be found in the Women’s Safety Hub, including resources specifically for women leaders, journalists, and survivors of abuse. It also offers video-on-demand safety training and allows visitors to register for live safety training in multiple languages. The safety hub was developed in collaboration with non-profit partners around the world and will be available in English as well as Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, and Malayalam.
“Meta has long been committed to building a safe online experience, and our focus on keeping women safe is industry-leading. Our commitment to online safety continues as we build and invest in new initiatives. The launch of these initiatives today is another step towards that commitment. The ever-increasing safety measures we offer will ensure that women will be able to enjoy a social experience that allows them to learn, connect, and grow without any barriers,” said Karuna Nain, Director, Global Safety Policy at Meta Platforms Inc.
Bishakha Datta, Executive Editor of Point of View, and Jyoti Vadehra, Head of Media and Communications of the Centre for Social Research, have been appointed as the first Indian member of Meta’s Global Women’s Safety Expert Advisors. Members of the group come from non-profit organizations, activists, and academic experts worldwide, and they advise Meta on new policies, products, and programs to better support women on its apps.
Sattva Consulting also released a paper titled, Connect, Collaborate, and Create: Women and Social Media During the Pandemic.
In India, only 33 per cent of women use social media, compared with 67 per cent of men. In this paper, which is based on secondary research and interviews with individuals and civil society organizations, we offer ways to bridge the gender divide exacerbated by limited internet connectivity in rural areas, lack of device ownership, and poor digital literacy. In addition, the paper highlights the positive impact of social platforms on women’s economic, social, and emotional well-being, particularly during the pandemic.
“We view India as a major market for us, and bringing Bishakha and Jyoti onto our Women’s Safety Expert Advisory Group will significantly help us to improve the safety of our platforms for women in India,” said Nain.
