FB to use photo-matching to block repeat ‘revenge’

Twitter creates ‘lite’ version for data-starved users

SAN FRANCISCO, April 6, (RTRS): Facebook Inc is adding tools on Wednesday to make it easier for users to report so-called “revenge …” and to automatically prevent the images from being shared again once they have been banned, the company said.

“Revenge …” refers to the sharing of sexually explicit images on the internet, without the consent of the people depicted in the pictures, in order to extort or humiliate them. The practice disproportionately affects women, who are sometimes targeted by former partners.

Facebook has been sued in the United States and elsewhere by people who said it should have done more to prevent the practice. The company in 2015 made clear that images “shared in revenge” were forbidden, and users have long had the ability to report posts as violating the terms of service.

Beginning on Wednesday, users of the world’s largest social network should see an option to report a picture as inappropriate specifically because it is a “… photo of me,” Facebook said in a statement.

The company also said it was launching an automated process to prevent the repeat sharing of banned images. Photo-matching software will keep the pictures off the core Facebook network as well as off its Instagram and Messenger services, it said.

Users who share “revenge …” may see their accounts disabled, the company said.

Facing criticism, the company last year met representatives from more than 150 women’s safety organizations and decided it needed to do more, Antigone Davis, global head of safety at Facebook, said in a phone interview. A specially trained group of Facebook employees will provide human review of each reported image, Davis said.

The process to prevent repeat sharing requires Facebook to retain the banned pictures in a database, although the images are blurred and only a small number of employees have access to the database, the

company said.

Also:

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter Inc is launching a faster version of its mobile service on Wednesday aimed at people with sporadic connections or little data on their smartphone plans, hoping to pick up users in harder-to-reach emerging markets.

The company calls the version Twitter Lite and it will be aimed largely at users outside the United States. Twitter Lite works through a web browser, not a stand-alone phone application, but its appearance and functionality are nearly identical to what app users experience, according to a preview shown to Reuters.

The launch comes on the heels of similar products from other US tech firms. Facebook Inc released Facebook Lite in 2015 and on Tuesday, Alphabet Inc’s YouTube unveiled a low-data mobile app designed for India.