Last Updated on 03/12/2021 by Sanskriti
Meta has introduced new safety mechanisms on its platform, including three efforts to assist in the protection of Indian women. The women’s safety portal has been expanded to Hindi and 11 other Indian languages, as well as a new platform to check and limit the distribution of non-consensual intimate photos (NCII). Meta has also appointed members of the Indian community to its Global Women’s Safety Expert Advisors.
“At Meta, building a safe online experience has been a priority,” said Karuna Nain, director, Global Safety Policy at Meta Platforms Inc. “While we continue to build and invest to ensure online safety, the launch of these initiatives today is another step towards our commitment,” Ms. Nain further added.
The first project, StopNCII.org, is a collaboration with the UK Revenge Porn Helpline that builds on the company’s NCII Pilot, which was an emergency service that allowed potential victims to hash their private photographs ahead of time. Social Media Matters, the Centre for Social Research, and the Red Dot Foundation have all collaborated with the site in India.
In coordination with the participating companies such as Linkedin, Facebook, Discord, Bubble, it allows women to file their complaints or who are victims can make sure that their photos have been removed. Moreover, they can keep a track of their filled case on this platform.
The program works by creating a hash from someone’s personal image(s)/video(s), where each image is given a unique hash value. The hash value of duplicate copies of the picture is the same. StopNCII.org then shares the hash with partner businesses so that they may assist in detecting and removing the photos from the internet.
The Women’s Safety Hub contains tools for female leaders, journalists, and abuse survivors. It also includes video-on-demand safety instruction as well as the ability to enroll for live safety training. In addition to Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Kannada, and Malayalam.
Jyoti Vadehra as Head of Media & Communications at the Centre for Social Research is the first Indian member of its Global Women’s Safety Expert Advisors, and Meta has also appointed Bishakha Datta, who is Executive Editor at Point of View have been appointed for this platform.
The committee, which includes 12 additional non-profit leaders, activists, and academic experts from across the world, advises Meta on new policies, products, and initiatives aimed at better supporting women on Meta’s applications.
To commemorate the milestone, Meta commissioned Sattva Consulting to write a study titled ‘Connect, Collaborate, and Create: Women and Social Media During the Pandemic.’ The report discusses strategies for addressing India’s significant gender disparity in social media usage.
