AP FILE PHOTO
SAN FRANCISCO— Google will start to censor unauthorized nude photos from its influential Internet search engine in a policy change aimed at cracking down on a malicious practice known as “revenge porn.”
The new rules announced Friday will allow people whose naked pictures have been posted on a website without their permission to ask Google to prevent links to the image from appearing in its search results. Google says a form for submitting the censorship requests will be available within the next few weeks.
Google traditionally has resisted efforts to erase online content from its Internet search engine, but decided to make an exception with the unauthorized sharing of nude photos because those images are often posted by an ex-spouse, jilted romantic partners or extortionists demanding ransom to take down the pictures.