The Long Road to Removing Stolen Images

In 2020, a young woman named Breeze Liu received a shocking phone call. A classmate informed her that an explicit video of her was circulating online, titled "Korean teen. " Liu, only 17 at the time the video was filmed, had no idea it was being shared without her consent. This was just the beginning of her nightmare. The video spread like wildfire, popping up on various porn websites and even being used to create deepfake content. Liu's life was turned upside down. She struggled with severe mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts. The impact was devastating. Liu later revealed that she had to fight to keep herself alive. Liu's journey to remove the explicit content was a long and arduous one. She tried to delete around 400 nonconsensual images and videos from the internet. This process took years and involved reaching out to multiple companies. During this time, Liu transitioned from being a venture capitalist to starting her own company focused on combating digital abuse. However, when it came to her own content, she faced significant hurdles, especially with Microsoft. Microsoft, one of the internet's largest gatekeepers, was slow to respond. The company hosted many of the explicit images on its Azure cloud services. Despite repeated requests, Microsoft did not take action. Other companies were quicker to remove the content, but Microsoft's response was painfully slow. It wasn't until Liu and a colleague confronted a senior member of Microsoft's safety team at a content moderation conference that the company finally took action.

The ordeal highlights the challenges victims face when trying to remove intimate images from the web. The process is complex and emotionally draining. Liu's experience also sheds light on a lesser-known issue: what happens when the age of the person in the imagery is unclear or disputed. This problem is becoming more relevant as nudify apps gain popularity in high schools. Liu's story underscores the need for a better system to handle nonconsensual image abuse. She emphasized that the current system is broken and that this is a global issue. Liu's case is a stark reminder of the difficulties victims face and the urgent need for change. Courtney Gregoire, Microsoft's chief digital safety officer, acknowledged the company's shortcomings in handling Liu's case. She stated that Microsoft is committed to improving its response time and ensuring that such incidents are addressed within 12 hours. For Liu, the process took a grueling eight months. After discovering the first nonconsensual video online in April 2020, Liu took a day to calm down. She then reached out to the Berkeley Police Department in California for help. This was the start of her long battle to reclaim her digital identity.

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