In the last few months, you might have come across posts promoting a website named StopNCII.org, claiming the website can help remove explicit photographs from “all over the internet” that were leaked as a result of revenge porn or blackmailing. For those who are unaware, NCII stands for Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery. It basically means sexual content distributed over the internet without the consent of the people depicted in the photographs or videos.
The social media posts, reels and videos claim that if you are one of the victims, register a case on StopNCII, and they will remove the explicit content from all over the internet.
For example, a YouTuber named Rohit R Gaba published a video on 5th September claiming StopNCII can remove all explicit photographs from the internet. Interestingly, the video’s storyline made it appear as if StopNCII is a government entity as the girl in the video categorically tells the blackmailer, “I have filed a complaint with cyber security. They will reach you any moment based on your IP location.”
On 30th August, an Instagram influencer who goes by the handle revolutionaryrj shared a video claiming StopNCII will remove explicit images from all over the internet. The video gained over 13 lakh likes when we published this report. The account has 1.5 million followers. Imagine the damage such misleading information can create.
On 7th August, a website named Analytics India Magazine published an article titled ‘Combat AI-Generated Nude Photos with StopNCII‘. In the article, they played with the words cunningly in the beginning and wrote, “Once submitted, the altered image will be effectively removed from all online platforms,” which is practically impossible and misleading. However, in the article ahead, they mentioned participating companies, but the damage was done in the third paragraph. Most readers, especially those looking for a way out of a panic situation, do not read the full article.
The video created by Rohit has been downloaded and shared by many users on social media. One such post we found was by Hardik Bhavsar on X (formerly Twitter).
इस वीडियो को अपने आसपास की बहन-बेटियों और हर उस महिला तक पहुँचाया जाये जो सोशियल मिडिया के प्लेटफॉर्म से जुड़े है एवं जॉब करती है….!!
— Hardik Bhavsar (@Bitt2DA) September 13, 2023
ताकि इस बहन के साथ जो होने जा रहा था स्कैम वो किसी और के साथ ना हो !!
आज कल साइबर क्राइम ज्यादा ही बढ़ गए है,
वीडियो को अंत तक देखकर शेयर… pic.twitter.com/KPfYzKkQnh
On 12th September, an X user, Muneeb Ahmed, claimed StopNCII can remove photographs from all the places on the internet.
Important Must Read 📍
— Muneeb Ahmad (@MuneebAhmad49) September 12, 2023
If someone edits your photo with Al or Photoshop to create a nude photo,
then you go to: https://t.co/FHF9C0eehF and submit the original photo and the edited photo, then they will remove the edited photo from all the places on the Internet.#stopncii #AI
On 11th September, a Facebook user, Ajit Jha, who calls himself a content creator, made similar claims in a video.
Unfortunately, the misleading information has been going around social media for months, and strangely, even some self-proclaimed tech experts have made similar claims about the website and services.
StopNCII denied claims that it can remove images from ‘all over the internet’
On 14th September, OpIndia contacted StopNCII and asked them if the claims made by the social media users were true. After a few hours, we received a reply from them in which they categorically said that they prevent the non-consensual sharing of intimate images online through on-device hashing technology, but “only the industry platforms listed on the website are currently able to receive hashes from StopNCII.org and remove content.”
That means StopNCII CANNOT remove the content from all over the internet, they can remove content from only those platforms which are registered on their website. Please note that StopNCII is ONLY FOR ADULT VICTIMS. They do not provide services to minors or under 18 children.
What is StopNCII, how does it work and what are the limitations
StopNCII is a UK-based initiative operated by the Revenge Porn Helpline (RPH) that is part of the South West Grid for Learning or SWGfL. It is based on the technology built by Facebook and Instagram’s NCII pilot that began in 2018.
SWGfL is a non-government organisation founded in 2000 and works with partners and stakeholders worldwide to protect people online. The RPH was established in 2015 to support the victims of non-consensual intimate image abuse. The organisation claims to have a 90 per cent removal rate and said they have successfully removed over 200,000 images from the internet.
Suppose a person is a victim of revenge porn. In that case, he or she can visit the website and generate a digital fingerprint called a hash on the website for the original and edited photographs or videos. StopNCII will share it with its partner companies, and they will remove the content from their websites. Notably, StopNCII pointed out that partner companies will get information about explicit images from the organisation.
As per the website, the partner companies include Facebook (Meta), TikTok, Reddit, Instagram (Meta), Bumble, OnlyFans, Threads (Meta) and PornHub. As you can see, there are only eight industry partners, of which three come under Meta.
Meta and over 50 non-governmental organisations worldwide support the UK Revenge porn Helpline’s StopNCII initiative. The announcement was made by Meta in 2021. Meta also said, “Tech companies participating in StopNCII.org receive the hash and can use that to detect if someone has shared or is trying to share those images on their platforms.”
To get more information on the portal, its pros and cons, and what to do in case of someone become a victim of revenge porn, we talked in detail with Dr Ananth Prabhu G, Professor and Principal Investigator – Sahyadri. He is a Cyber Law and Security Expert and works with Karnataka Judicial, Police Academy and other National Academies.
Speaking to OpIndia, Dr Ananth said StopNCII and other websites organisations have been developed to combat the problem of non-consensual intimate image abuse. These platforms can be valuable resources, but they also have limitations.
StopNCII and other similar websites help raise awareness about the issue and help educate people about the consequences and legal implications. They often provide support and resources for the victims. For example, with the help of NGO networks and social media partners worldwide, StopNCII guides how to take legal action, remove content and cope with the emotional toll. These platforms also urge local governments to form stronger laws and regulations against such image abuse.
Coming to the limitations, websites like StopNCII have limited reach. For example, on the one hand, people are not aware of such portals, and on the other hand, the participating companies are fewer in number. Furthermore, laws regarding NCI sharing vary per jurisdiction, making it hard to provide universal advice.
Perpetrators of image abuse often use anonymous accounts, making it virtually impossible for these platforms to stop them without the help of law enforcement agencies.
Furthermore, these platforms have questionable effectiveness when removing content from the internet. Dr Ananth said, “The tool uses hash technology for the intimate images and photos. Image hashing is the process of using an algorithm to assign a unique hash value to an image. The participating companies look for the images and videos for the same hash value. For certain purposes, the system can be effective, such as quickly identifying duplicate images or verifying the integrity of an image file. “However, it is ineffective for tasks like searching for similar or visually related images,” he said.
Dr Ananth added, “Hash values are highly sensitive to even minor changes in an image. A small modification, such as resizing, cropping, or compression, can result in a completely different hash value, even if the visual content remains similar. Even storing in different formats.” Furthermore, as the hashing algorithms condense complex image data into fixed-length strings of characters (hashes), there is a significant chance of loss of image information. “As a result, visually similar images can produce very different hash values, making it challenging to identify them accurately,” he said.
Furthermore, it gets difficult if the images shared have minor or extensive changes in terms of colours, shapes, textures and more. Hash technology also has a history of generating false positives and negatives due to its limitations.
When asked about better technology, he said, “In contrast, modern image retrieval techniques, such as content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems, use more advanced methods, including feature extraction, machine learning, and deep learning, to analyse and compare images based on their visual content. These methods consider a broader range of image characteristics, making them more effective for tasks like finding visually similar images or performing image searches based on content.”
Experts countering claims on social media
Cyber Safety Expert and founder of Akancha Against Harassment, Akancha Srivastava, also raised the concern on social media. Sharing the video made by Rohit, she wrote, “THIS IS A LIE, FALSE CLAIM! Nobody can remove anything from “ALL PLACES ON THE INTERNET”! How is the privacy of collected data being maintained??” She added that a complaint was filed with Maharashtra Cyber against malicious claims intended to mislead.
THIS IS A LIE, FALSE CLAIM! ⛔
— Akancha Srivastava (@AkanchaS) September 13, 2023
Nobody can remove anything from "ALL PLACES ON THE INTERNET"!
How is the privacy of collected data being maintained??
Submitted complaint to @MahaCyber1, this is malicious claim intended to mislead.@Cyberdost pic.twitter.com/kwIIXJ8wSu
Questioning the intentions of the social media influencers blindly posting such information, she wrote, “These social media influencers blindly post it for money without fact-checking. Who will be responsible for any tragedy tomorrow?! Where/how are these morphed/n*de pictures being stored??”
Please take note of these TOTAL false claims to mislead young girls blatantly @MumbaiPolice @DGPMaharashtra @CPMumbaiPolice Nobody can remove anything from *all places on the internet* ⛔ Why ask for the morphed/n*de pictures to be submitted, how is data protected? pic.twitter.com/5jiypW1g8B
— Akancha Srivastava (@AkanchaS) September 13, 2023
Notably, Akancha also raised the alarm on the misleading information on StopNCII in August when an X user (now deleted), Dheeraj Roy, shared the misleading claim that StopNCII would remove explicit images from “all the places on the internet”.
Would love to have a conversation on this especially about removing from *all the places on the internet*
— Akancha Srivastava (@AkanchaS) August 8, 2023
That's quite a promise.
Secondly, how does one ensure privacy and safety of data received by you? This is not criticism, genuinely wish to understand the process. https://t.co/HbcZOF0vpQ
On 10th September, she published a video providing details about the concerning trend going on about StopNCII.
This organization running an influencer marketing campaign asking for victim's morphed pictures so that they can *remove it from all the places on the internet* is an absolutely false claim floating on #SocialMedia! Dear girls & boys, please don't fall for it! ⛔ Watch 🙏#AAH pic.twitter.com/77GNnMZOIY
— Akancha Srivastava (@AkanchaS) September 10, 2023
What to do if you are a victim?
First of all, do not panic. Inform your family and friends about the situation so they know how it got leaked or if it was fake in case they come across any such imagery. Furthermore, file a complaint to the cybercrime portal cybercrime.gov.in. It is a Government of India initiative against cyber crimes. Your complaint will reach the concerned police station. You should also call 1930, a 24×7 helpline for the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Make sure to collect all the screenshots and call recordings (if any) and approach the cyber crime police station in your area.
You should not hide the information from your friends and family, as they are your first line of emotional support in such cases. Always stay calm and do not panic. Make sure not to send money to the blackmailers, or else there is a significant chance you will get stuck in an infinite loop of harassment.
Despite being a genuine portal, StopNCII has more limitations than it is being propagated. The right thing to do is to approach the police if you are being harassed or blackmailed.
