Google will be more active in banning child pornography images and videos from its search results, after pressure from the British government. The results of more than 100,000 search terms are filtered; a warning is also given for some of those search terms.
The search giant uses software to recognize child pornography images, after which Google employees will assess whether it is indeed child porn. This happens because software has difficulty distinguishing between an innocent photo of a child in a bath and actual child pornography. writes Google CEO Eric Schmidt in a letter to the Daily Mail. Microsoft is also cooperating in blocking the prohibited information.
Found images and videos are banned from more than 100,000 search results, with the company using software to also exclude versions of the same photos and videos published elsewhere. In his letter, Schmidt thanks Microsoft for sharing its PhotoDNA technology, which can identify copies of photos by fingerprint. In addition, Google itself has developed similar software for videos, called VideoID. By using that software, child pornography can be banned more effectively.
In addition, 13,000 search terms that are directly related to child porn come with a warning that the user is searching for prohibited content, indicating where professional help can be found. The changes will first be implemented in English-speaking countries, but will then be available in 158 languages, Google promises.
The search giant has long blocked individual links to prohibited information, but more active filtering of search results has long been considered undesirable by the company, because it would jeopardize the neutrality of the search engine. Google is taking action after British Prime Minister David Cameorn threatened legislation.
In a response to the Daily Mail say Cameron says that legislation will still come if the changes from Google and Microsoft don’t work well enough. He himself would prefer to see no search results at all for some search terms, if it is obvious that the user is looking for child pornography. “That is not a curtailment of freedom of expression, but responsible business,” said the British Prime Minister.