Tech Companies Failing Women by Prioritizing Nudity Over Consent in Image Abuse Cases, Report Finds

Tech companies and authorities are falling short in protecting women from image-based abuse by overly focusing on nudity detection rather than consent, according to a report by the organization Chayn. The report contends that this narrow approach by platforms and regulators constitutes a systemic failure, overlooking the complex realities and diverse cultural sensitivities surrounding online abuse.

Hera Hussain, a contributor to the report, warned that automated moderation systems, primarily trained to detect nudity, often fail to identify other forms of problematic imagery. She highlighted that discerning the nuances of harmful content requires more than just spotting bare skin, and users often need to be exceptionally persistent to ensure human moderators review images.

Concerns are mounting over the diminishing human oversight in content moderation as companies increasingly rely on cost-effective automated tools. This trend is exacerbated by the consolidation of regional expertise into teams covering vast and diverse geographical areas. For instance, the CEO of Snapchat disclosed to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that the company's trust and safety team saw a significant reduction, with moderation headcount dropping by 27% from a peak of over 3,000 in 2021 to approximately 2,226 in 2023.

Campaigners like Hussain are advocating for a reversal of the current protocol. Instead of investigating and then taking down content, she proposes that platforms should remove content first, pending a 24-hour review period, before conducting an investigation. Hussain pointed to a case from 2017 where three sisters in Pakistan were killed after a video of them singing at a wedding was shared online. Several male relatives were subsequently given life sentences in connection with the deaths.

Currently, the burden of reporting falls almost entirely on the victim. Survivors must locate and view abusive images repeatedly, submitting each one individually without a straightforward mechanism to remove bulk copies. Hussain described this process as retraumatizing, often with no guarantee of a response from platforms.

The report emphasizes that the harm from leaked images rarely remains confined to the individual depicted. It details how such incidents can profoundly impact entire families, causing fathers to avoid work and leading to the collapse of sisters' marriages, with households facing shame and scrutiny. The concept of collective honor means that the threat of collective shame itself becomes a tool of control.

Mahnoor, another individual mentioned in the report, has experienced estrangement from relatives who no longer speak to her following the sharing of images that, by platform definitions, were harmless. Her young daughter has begun to notice the distance from upstairs relatives.

Some countries, like France, recognize a right to one's own image under their civil code, granting individuals exclusive rights over the use of their likeness, with exceptions for news and matters of public interest. The United Arab Emirates extends this further, criminalizing the photographing of individuals without consent, even in public spaces, without a broad public-interest exemption.

Hussain concluded that "image-based abuse is bigger and wider than nudes" and that there is a "systemic failure" by tech platforms and authorities. She urged police, courts, and technology companies to improve support for survivors, offering reassurance that victims are not alone and that organizations like Chayn are available to help.