Google to remove ‘revenge porn’ from searches when asked

Google announced Friday that it would begin honoring requests from users to remove so-called “revenge porn” images from its search engine. 

The tech giant said it would create a form in the next few weeks that would allow people to ask that links be removed to sexually explicit images that were shared without the users’ consent. 

{mosads}“Our philosophy has always been that Search should reflect the whole web. But revenge porn images are intensely personal and emotionally damaging, and serve only to degrade the victims — predominantly women,” the company wrote in a blog post. 

Google made clear it does not have the ability to remove the image from the Web entirely.

Google’s announcement comes as Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) is in the final stages of drafting legislation that would make revenge porn a federal crime, and would put companies like Google, Facebook and other social media sites on the hook if they do not remove the photos when asked. 

The legislation would exempt sites that are unaware the content is posted, but civil liberties advocates have criticized and sued over similar state laws they find to be overly vague and a threat to the First Amendment. 

Speier’s office said the topic is expected to be featured on John Oliver’s HBO show “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday. Though Speier did not sit for an interview, her office said it helped provide information to the show.

States and the federal government have begun cracking down on revenge porn — when a former romantic partner posts explicit images online. It can also include hackers stealing sexually explicit pictures and distributing them online, a tactic that was highlighted by last year’s leak of nude celebrity photos. 

The Federal Trade Commission has recently taken on the owners of revenge porn websites, and a number of states have enacted laws against them. Sites like Reddit have recently said they will remove these type of photos when notified.