Google and StopNCII partner to protect people from harmful content

We understand how distressing the spread of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) is for those affected by this form of abuse. That’s why we have long invested in ways to protect people from this content on Search. Today, we’re deepening our investment in fighting NCII by developing a new partnership with StopNCII.org, which is part of the UK-based charity South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL). This partnership will build on our existing protections to create more scalable solutions for victims affected by this content.

Our existing tools allow people to request the removal of NCII from Search, and we’ve continued to launch ranking improvements to reduce the visibility of this type of content. We have also heard from survivors and advocates that given the scale of the open web, there’s more to be done to reduce the burden on those who are affected by it. Over the next few months, we will begin using StopNCII’s hashes, which are digital fingerprints of images and videos, to proactively identify and remove content which violates our policy against NCII.

StopNCII.org helps adults protect their private images from being shared online without their permission. Adults concerned about intimate image abuse can use StopNCII.org to create a unique identifier (also known as a “hash” or digital fingerprint) representing their intimate imagery. These hashes are shared with participating companies, who can use them to detect corresponding imagery that violates their NCII policy and remove it from their platform or service.

As part of our long-term commitment to creating a safer online environment, we look forward to bringing together policymakers, industry leaders and civil society at today’s NCII London Summit to help to continue the dialogue about how we can best empower survivors and work together to combat this issue across the web.