anti-nudity algorithms within the system
Children’s access to technology has gotten out of hand, or that is what more and more governments around the world think. The United Kingdom banned porn for those under 18 years of age, Australia has banned those under 16 who have accounts on social networks, Denmark wants to do the same…There are many attempts to limit what minors can see online, but The effectiveness of their methods is rather doubtful. Now, the British government has had a new idea. TOanti-nudity algorithms. They tell it in Financial Times. The government wants technology companies to do the work of blocking nude images on the devices themselves. The idea is that it is not only detected within apps, but also at the operating system level. We are talking about both mobile phones and computers, so it would imply that iOS, Android, MacOS and Windows implement algorithms to prevent, not only from seeing, but from taking and sharing nude photos within the system. At the moment it will not be mandatory, but they will simply encourage the platforms to do it, but the idea is on the table. Why is it important. It is a way of admitting that the current measures are not enough and it is necessary for the platforms to take sides when filtering the content. Taking the United Kingdom’s own example, people who want to access portals like Pornhub must identify themselves in advance, which has caused a huge drop in traffic, but at the same time an increase in VPN downloads. Effectiveness and friction. At the moment it is a hypothetical scenario, but it could be the most effective measure of all those being considered. We only have to look at the case of apps like Instagram and its relentless algorithm to avoid nudity. The idea is to bring these algorithms to the entire system, so that no nudity is shown on the screen, except if the user has verified that they are of legal age through an official document. How the porn block works now in the United Kingdom (and how it is proposed the well-known Spanish ‘pajaporte’), users must identify themselves when entering certain websites. Now imagine that when you buy a cell phone or a computer, when creating the account they ask for your ID to verify your age. Sure we would still find ways to bypass it, for example by creating fake profiles, but it creates less friction because you would only have to do it once. ANDThe HMD case. There are currently no safeguards to block nudity at the operating system level. The options offered by the platforms are the classic parental controls, but there is a precedent for a device that blocks adult content. It is about the HMD Fuse“the mobile that grows with your children” that was announced a few months ago. It comes with a system called HarmBlock AI that is dedicated to scanning the content and prevents nude images from being displayed, stored or taken. Image | Pexelsedited In Xataka | This year the Three Wise Men bring something very special to children: children’s cosmetics