Just 0.3% of platforms join register to block revenge porn despite Ofcom plea

Detailed summary

Ofcom has introduced measures to combat the sharing of non-consensual intimate images online (Picture: Getty Images) Only 30 online platforms have signed up to an Ofcom-backed…

Only 30 online platforms have signed up to an Ofcom-backed register for combating revenge porn, despite the watchdog estimating 10,000 would fall within its scope.

The website StopNCII was set up by charity SWGfL to help track and remove non-consensual intimate images (NCII) online.

It uses a technology called hash-matching to determine whether a particular image has been shared across different sites – but relies on those sites choosing to join the register.

Currently, 30 of the biggest companies on the internet have done so, including Facebook, Reddit, X, TikTok, Pornhub and OnlyFans.

However, the people behind the site say they make up a tiny percentage of the total platforms who should be signed up if NCII – often considered revenge porn – are to be stamped out entirely.

Speaking to a House of Lords committee on Monday, SWGfL’s Sophie Mortimer said: ‘Participation is very low.

‘Ofcom estimates that around 10,000 platforms fall within scope, so we’re currently at less than 1% of platforms that have signed up.’

Ms Mortimer pointed out that Ofcom has partnered with SWGfL and specifically urged online companies to join StopNCII when it began an ‘enforcement programme’ against revenge porn in September.

A news release on the online watchdog’s website reads: ‘Ofcom continues to recommend that platforms use StopNCII’s industry-leading hash matching tool.’

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