An illustration picture shows a woman looking at the Facebook website on a computer in Munich February 2, 2012.
An illustration picture shows a woman looking at the Facebook website on a computer in Munich February 2, 2012. Reuters/Michael Dalder

Facebook wants nude photos from Australian users as part of its latest attempt to preemptively prevent revenge porn on its platform. The Australian government's Office of the eSafety Commissioner has said it will work with Facebook to prevent intimate images of Aussie users from landing on social media against their will.

Aussie users are encouraged to send in naked photos of themselves through Messenger as Facebook tests the feature in Australia. The social networking giant said it intends to use the photos to build a database of specific images it can block from being uploaded to the site in the future.

If Facebook’s trial in Australia becomes a success, it is expected to spread to the United States, the UK and Canada. Meanwhile, the eSafety Office offers advice for Australian users who are concerned about an intimate image circulating online, saying that users must notify Facebook. Once it gets the notification, the site uses the image-matching technology to prevent anyone from sharing it on their platforms.

"This partnership gives Australians a unique opportunity to proactively inoculate themselves from future image-based abuse by coming to our portal and reporting tool," Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement, according to Sydney Morning Herald.

Facebook previously detailed plans to combat revenge porn. It mentioned about an artificial intelligence tool that can match photos to prevent them from appearing on Messenger and even on Instagram. Facebook's head of global safety Antigone Davis said that these tools, developed in partnership with safety experts, are examples of how they are utilising new technology to keep people safe.

Aussie users are victims of image-based abuse. According to the eSafety office, one in five Australians faced such abuse the past, in which their intimate photos were posted on social media without their consent. Based on leaked documents, about 54,000 cases of revenge porn are reported to Facebook each month.

Amid such issue concerning the use of social media, security experts say that more has to be done to combat revenge porn. Javvad Malik, security advocate at AlienVault, has told Newsweek that the only safe nude photos are the ones that aren’t taken.

Malik believes that the issue of revenge porn or unwanted distribution of photos is not one that can be solved by technology alone. "Rather, it’s mainly a user education and awareness process whereby compromising photos or information should be destroyed, or not captured in the first instance,” he added.

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