Facebook Will Use New Technology to Detect and Remove Child Pornography

Following a week of some relatively bad press over its anti-Google campaigning, Facebook is receiving some positive coverage.  The company announced that it will become the first service to utilize Microsoft's PhotoDNA, a new technology with the capacity to target and assist in the removal of pornographic images of children.  The New York Times has more:

Microsoft says it has refined a technology it created called PhotoDNA to identify the worst of these disturbing images — even if they are cropped or otherwise altered — and cull through large amounts of data quickly and accurately enough to police the world’s largest online services.

Unfortunately, along with the growth of Facebook has come an increase in the number of illegal photographs that are posted through the platform.  Facebook users upload 200 million images each day -- a monumentally large pool of pictures to comb through.  PhotoDNA allows Facebook to reach beyond merely relying on user complaints to get rid of offensive images.

This unique technology can accurately scan through all of these images to automatically detect illegal images.  Here's how it works:

...the software puts the image in black and white and into a standard size. Then it carves the image into blocks and subjects it to an array of measurements. The resulting “signatures” can be provided to online service providers, who can then use them to find these specific illegal images on their systems without possessing them or looking at customers’ private content.

Aside from removing problematic images and helping keep children safe, this innovative technology holds the potential to aid police and other members of the law enforcement community.  On Friday, Facebook will hold the "Protecting Kids Online" virtual event, where this initiative will be discussed in detail.

Below, watch Microsoft discuss how PhotoDNA will assist Facebook, among other companies, in creating a safer community for children and families alike: