Microsoft to tackle revenge porn on Xbox Live
"We want to help put victims back in control of their images and their privacy"
Revenge porn, the posting of intimate videos or images online without the subject's consent, is one of the more disgusting activities that the internet has made possible. Now Microsoft has promised it is going to be more proactive in stopping the practice across its services, including Xbox Live.
"Much needs to be done to address the problem," said Microsoft chief online safety officer Jacqueline Beauchere.
"As a first step, we want to help put victims back in control of their images and their privacy. That's why Microsoft will remove links to photos and videos from search results in Bing, and remove access to the content itself when shared on OneDrive or Xbox Live, when we are notified by a victim."
The company has set up a new page to allow victims of revenge porn to report it and promises to keep working with experts to develop its approach to the problem.
"Clearly, this reporting mechanism is but one small step in a growing and much-needed effort across the public and private sectors to address the problem. It's important to remember, for example, that removing links in search results to content hosted elsewhere online doesn't actually remove the content from the Internet - victims still need stronger protections across the Web and around the world."