In early 2022, two Google Policy employees met with three women who had fallen victim to a scam in which explicit videos of them were circulating online, including in Google search results. The women were among hundreds of youthful adults who responded to ads seeking swimsuit models and were then forced to appear in erotic videos distributed by the website GirlsDoPorn. The website Closed 2020AND producer, accountantAND cameraman then pleaded guilty to sex traffickingbut the videos were appearing in Google search results faster than women could keep up with requests to have them removed.
The women, joined by a lawyer and a security expert, offered a slew of ideas for how Google could better hide the criminal and degrading clips, according to five people who attended or were briefed on the virtual meeting. They wanted Google to block websites dedicated to GirlsDoPorn and videos with its watermark. They suggested that Google borrow the 25-terabyte strenuous drive on which women’s cybersecurity consultant Charles DeBarber saved every episode of GirlsDoPorn, take a mathematical fingerprint, or “hash,” of each clip and block them from reappearing in search results.
Two Googlers at the meeting hoped to operate what they had learned to get more resources from their superiors. But the victim’s lawyer, Brian Holm, left the meeting feeling doubtful. The policy team was in a “tough spot” and “didn’t have the authority to make changes at Google,” he says.
His hunch was right. Two years later, none of the ideas raised at the meeting have been implemented, and the videos still appear in searches.
WIRED spoke with five former Google employees and 10 victim advocates who have been in contact with the company. All say they appreciate that Google’s recent changes have made it easier and more effective for survivors of image-based sexual abuse like the GirlsDoPorn scam to seek legal recourse. remove unwanted search resultsBut they are frustrated that the search giant’s management has not approved proposals such as the strenuous drive idea that they believe would fully restore and preserve the privacy of millions of victims worldwide, most of them women.
The sources describe previously unreported internal deliberations, including Google’s rationale for not using an industry-standard tool called StopNCII that provides information about unwanted intimate images (NCII) and the company’s failure to require porn sites to verify consent to qualify for search traffic. Google’s own research team published steps tech companies can take against NCII, including using StopNCII.
Sources believe such efforts would better contain a problem that is growing, in part by expanding access to AI tools that create explicit deepfakes, including those involving GirlsDoPorn survivors. General reporting on the UK’s Revenge Porn Helpline more than twice last year, to about 19,000, as did the number of synthetic content cases. Half of the more than 2,000 Britons in a recent study I’m worried I’ll fall victim to deepfakes. The White House in May called for faster action by lawmakers and industry to restrict NCII altogether. In June, Google joined seven other companies and nine organizations in announcing working group coordinating responses.
Currently, victims can pursue prosecution of abusers or pursue legal claims against the sites hosting the content, but neither of these avenues is guaranteed, and both can be costly in terms of legal fees. Getting Google to remove results may be the most practical tactic, and it serves the ultimate goal of keeping offending content out of the sight of friends, hiring managers, potential landlords, or dates—almost all of whom likely turn to Google to find people.
A Google spokeswoman, who requested anonymity to avoid harassment by perpetrators, declined to comment on the GirlsDoPorn victim interview. She said combating what the company calls non-consensual explicit images (NCEI) remains a priority and that Google’s actions go far beyond what is legally required. “Over the years, we’ve invested in industry-leading policies and safeguards to help protect those affected by this harmful content,” she said. “Teams across Google continue to work hard to strengthen our safeguards and thoughtfully address emerging challenges to better protect people.”