When B.C. passed its landmark new law to fight the online distribution of non-consensual intimate images, one of the big questions was: Will any of the global tech companies listen to a tiny province like British Columbia?Attorney General Niki Sharma recently met with Google and Microsoft, the two largest search engine operators in the world, as well as the owners of Pornhub, one of the biggest pornography websites. All have indicated their willingness to abide by B.C.
It perhaps goes without saying, but there are thousands of internet pornography sites beyond Pornhub. Still, as one of the largest, Pornhub has already clashed with courts and legislators in countries attempting to curtail the content it posts. It has faced allegations it hosted material depicting sexual abuse, and abuse of minors, and profited from people viewing those photos and videos.
Sharma met via video conference with MindGeek officials this month to discuss its protective measures, which includes automated software, user flags and staff reviews of content, along with its processes to immediately disable access to content flagged for review. Sharma said she appreciated the briefing from MindGeek on how it removes non-consensual imagery from its websites, which also include Brazzers, Redtube and YouPorn. But she said she’d prefer to see the company recognize that by the time B.C. issues an order it has already investigated the matter, determined the material is non-consensual, and doesn’t need a third-party private company to take up time redoing its own review.
With Google and Microsoft, the conversation centered on how the companies decide what websites are indexed or delisted from their respective search engines, which are the most-used search platforms on the internet.“There will be a whole ecosystem of ones out there, and we need to get the word out.”