Young people in danger

Meta wants to better protect users from sex blackmail

The US technology company Meta has announced better protection for underage users against sexual blackmail. Meta explained on Thursday that the company is testing the use of software supported by artificial intelligence (AI) for this purpose. This should automatically detect and obscure nude images that are sent to minors via the Instagram direct message function.

In addition, safety tips are to be sent automatically to all users who send such content. According to Meta, the new measures are intended to protect young people from "unwanted and potentially dangerous contact".

The aim of the "Nudity Protection" tool is to protect against so-called "sextortion". Perpetrators often get underage victims to create sexually explicit images or videos and send them to them. The perpetrators then threaten to publish the material in order to extort money or further images.