NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 6 – Meta today unveiled two initiatives to allow young people and families to navigate the internet safely as the world marks Safer Internet Day.
Dubbed ‘Take it Down’ and ‘Thorn’, the tech firm behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp says that the tools will equip teens with the know-how of taking control of their intimate imagery as well as tips on how to handle online sextortion.
Take it Down is designed to help teens worried that their content might or has been posted online, adults worried about images taken of them when they were under 18, and parents or trusted adults who operate Meta products on behalf of a young person.
“As an organization, we are announcing new efforts to ensure that our teens have control over what they post, and that parents and teens are aware of how to avoid and deal with sextortion,” said Meta in a statement.
“Non-consensual sharing or even threatening to share intimate images without consent is against our policies and nobody should ever have to experience this,” it added.
Meta had earlier, in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), established a platform to prevent online sexual exploitation of children.
To access Take It Down, users can submit a case to have their intimate photos featured on participating apps.
It then, secretly and directly from their own device, gives each picture or video a distinct hash value, which is a numerical code.
Meta then uses the hashes they submit to NCMEC to locate any copies of the image, remove them, and stop the content from ever being posted on Meta’s apps.
It says it is keen on raising awareness through the campaign with organizations such as Watoto Watch, Missing Children Kenya, Eveminet, and Childline Kenya.
