Against online harassment: create a filter that deletes photos of naked men on Twitter


A 2017 study found that 53% of women between the ages of 18 and 29 had received an unsolicited lascivious image on the Internet

A new filter for
        
social networks
        
 which can detect and delete unsolicited photographs of naked men is now available at
        
Twitter
        
 .

The
plug-incalled
Safe DM, block and delete images of penises that are sent by direct message.

Its developer, Kelsey Bressler, had the idea after receiving an unwanted image of a naked man.

Bressler says that social media companies can make more efforts to protect users from online exhibitionism.

According to the designer, she is now in talks with other important platforms so that Safe DM is also available on them.


Safe DM is an external plugin that allows you to block the sending of photos of naked men in the Twitter messaging service, and their creators plan to extend it to other social networks

Safe DM is an external plugin that allows you to block the sending of photos of naked men in the Twitter messenger service, and their creators plan to extend it to other social networks

"We would like to launch it on other social media platforms and we are discussing what steps to follow now," Bressler told the BBC.

The filter was released on February 14 on Twitter with a message that said: "Give your friends the gift of penis-free DMs this Valentine's Day."

To develop this artificial intelligence, Bressler asked the public in September to send photographs of penises.

"I am testing a filter that is under development that automatically detects images of penises in DM and takes care of them on behalf of the user (delete, delete & block)," he wrote on Twitter.

Bressler indicated that "it was not a joke", that he was conducting the test "for science" and that "please" only send "consensual images of human penises".

I received more than 4,000 photographs.

The Safe DM team ensures that the filter works 99% of the time.

To verify that statement Buzzfeed News
Try the software.

The installation of the filter, says reporter Cameron Wilson, was "extremely easy."

"To make sure the app works in all conditions, I needed pictures of penises of all shapes, sizes, colors and arrangements," he writes.

I found the images in Wikimedia Commons and asked a colleague to send them via DM.

For the most part, the filter worked. And the reporter concluded that the software was very accurate when blocking and deleting images. But it had a delay of several minutes.

Users who wish to use Safe DM need to add the plug-in to their Twitter account and allow it to access their direct messages.

The software scans users' messages looking for penis images. If it detects a message, a response to both parties letting them know that the message is inappropriate and has been deleted.

Bressler states that artificial intelligence only searches for unwanted images and does not read the text of a message.

"Disrespectful and transgressive"


The creators of Safe DM are in talks to make the filter available on other platforms

The creators of Safe DM are in talks so that the filter is available on other platforms

A study by the Pew cyberbullying research center, published in 2017, found that 53% of women between 18 and 29 years of age had received an unsolicited lascivious image on the internet.

Last year, Bressler, who lives in Seattle, United States, spoke with the BBC about the development of the project.

He said receiving an unsolicited nude image was "disrespectful and transgressive."

"It's the virtual equivalent of someone showing you the penis in the street," he said. "They are not giving you the opportunity to consent, they are forcing you to see their image and that is never right."

ADEMS

Against online harassment: create a filter that deletes photos of naked men on Twitter – LA NACION