Big Tech in The White House, a Step or a Leap in the Right Direction?

Big Tech has a problem. In fact, Big Tech has multiple problems. With regulators implementing compliance rules that offer limited data privacy, outsourcing content moderation overseas, and cybercriminal activity on platforms like Telegram remaining rampant, the tech sector has a lot of room for growth when addressing digitally-based sexual violence and exploitation.

Recently, the White House joined big tech names like Thorn and Meta in publishing a collaborative statement outlining initiatives to create a safer digital space for women, children, and members of the LGBTQ community. The statement includes links to each company’s pledge and plans to address CSAM (child sexual abuse material) and NCII (non-consensual intimate image abuse), all made possible by generative AI. Gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and discrimination have historically not been a top priority for either the public or private sectors, so it’s great to see positive steps in the right direction.

That being said, they have their work cut out for them.

It’s unclear how regulators and tech companies plan to address these issues without considering misogyny and sexist rhetoric (including content creators and their content) as harassment and hate speech. Societal norms have long treated gender-based violence as an unfortunate reality, so how do two male-dominated fields intend to effectively keep women, children, and marginalized communities safe online without even acknowledging the problem in its entirety? How do government bodies plan to implement consequences and punishments for digital gender-based violence when 97% of rapists never see a day in jail? Abuse online often spills over into real life, leading to sexploitation and even worse acts, too distressing to fully outline here.

Many of these "bad actors" are men who steal images from social media apps like TikTok and Instagram and upload them to apps like Nudify, feeling no remorse for their actions. High school boys share images and videos of their female classmates without their knowledge or consent, sending the message that their female counterparts can never expect to feel safe. Thanks to GitHub’s open-source library and lax user policies, it’s too easy to find the code and create apps that fulfill any and all violent fantasies.

To be clear, these companies banding together with the public sector is an excellent start to addressing these issues, but we need more. For example, Open AI’s Model Spec for gen-ai models pre-trained for children’s safety is an amazing step in the right direction. 

But we need more.

We need Meta, TikTok, and other social media companies to define digital gender-based violence in user agreements and community guidelines as hate speech and permanently ban accounts that target, harass, and dox women. We need robust laws that actually punish rapists and label gender-based violence, in all its forms, as serious criminal offenses.

What are the consequences for those who violate these guidelines? What reporting mechanisms are being created so that victims are believed? What types of training are companies mandating to overseas firms that tech companies outsource their content moderation to? How does the public sector intend to criminally and civilly hold these “bad actors” accountable? How do public systems intend to provide justice for victims of digital gender-based violence?

Will the judicial and legislative bodies in the US label incels and other Men’s Rights Activist groups as domestic terrorists and, therefore, dangers to society? What support systems will both sectors provide for NCII and CSAM victims?

These are genuine questions, not meant to antagonize. For generations, violence against women has been normalized and placed low on the priority list. With that said, how do tech companies and US authorities intend to earn our fragile trust?

I, along with every female user online, am waiting for answers.