At the beginning of August last August, Point told Wired that only two images left on four different Microsoft servers. “We deeply regret that this problem has solved almost 10 months of communication between the victim, Microsoft and us as an NGO,” the NGO said in an e -mail at that time.
Microsoft Digital Safety Chief Gregoire says that the situation of Liu has encouraged her team to try to improve reporting processes and relationships with victim aid groups. Point the contact initially marked the left that the company had no control over, according to Gregoire. She refused to work out the circumstances. Dirani says that this statement was never communicated to him, and it remains unclear why the tires were not 'usable'.
Only after Powell Thomas is cornered about Liu's case did Microsoft obtain the URLs on which it could act. “We are grateful, to be perfectly honest, for the spontaneous connection at Trustcon,” says Gregoire. But it should no longer be necessary: Point the contact now has a more direct way to keep in touch, she says.
Other assistance for the victim say that their relationships with technical giants remain challenging. Last year, a CBNewz research showed that managers at Google have rejected countless ideas that were increased by staff and external lawyers who were proactively preventing access to problematic images in search results. Some survivors have discovered that the fastest way to remove content is to submit copyright claims, a tactic that works in the online safety industry, do not say sufficiently.
The lack of consistency in policy and processes among technology companies contributes to delays in securing Takedowns, according to Emma Pickering, the head of technology facilitated abuse at Refuge, the largest organization for domestic violence in the UK. “They all just respond as they choose – and the reaction is usually incredibly bad,” she says. (Google introduced new policy in July 2024 to accelerate removals.)
Pickering Claims Microsoft, in particular, has been difficult. “I was recently told if I want to deal with them, we must provide proof that we use their platform and we promote them,” she says, adding refugees of as many technical platforms as possible.
Gregoire from Microsoft says she will investigate these concerns and be open to dialogue. The company hopes to stop the need for removal, partly by scare offenders. Last December Microsoft complained to a group of 10 unknown people who reportedly bypassed Azure and used an AI tool to generate offensive images, including a Gregoire described as sexually harmful. “We don't want our services to be abused to cause damage,” she says.
The challenges have not ended for Liu. Videos and images of her naked remain available on at least one self -proclaimed “free porn” website, according to links that have been assessed by Wired. She also had to deposit her savings to develop Alecto AI because the support of investors has been faint. Some investors would have told her not to use her own experience in her pitch. Liu says that when she threw a male-female pair that considered investing, she burst out laughing at the idea of building a company around the use of AI to detect online image abuse. Even responding that she had almost committed suicide after she had fallen victim, she didn't cheat much, says Liu.
In December 2024, more than four and a half years since her nightmare started, Liu found a glimmer of hope. A proposal for which she advocated in the US Congress to demand websites that they remove unwanted explicit images within 48 hours almost ended up on the office of the then President Joe Biden. It was eventually suspended, but real progress had never felt so close. Liu and a dual group of more than 20 legislators have not given up; In January they re -introduced the proposal that potential penalties threaten up to $ 50,000 per violation. Despite objections from rights groups that are concerned about overcensorship, the bill approved the Senate last week. Even Microsoft is behind it.
If you or someone you know need help, call 1-800-273-8255 Free, 24-hour support of the National Life Line of Suicide Prevention. You can also send an SMS to 741-741 for the crisis text line. Outside the US, visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention For crisis centers around the world.
