Google update makes it easier for people to remove explicit photos of themselves from search results

Written by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Google on Thursday introduced a new feature that allows people to request that their explicit personal photos be removed from its search results.

People already have the ability to remove non-consensual explicit images from Google Search, but the tech giant is updating that feature to allow them to remove any of their explicit images, including those shared with consent at the time.

Before the update, if someone posted an explicit personal photo on their own website and then removed it, that image could still appear in Google Search results if someone else posted that photo elsewhere without approval. Now, someone can also request to remove this image. The process people have to go through to remove these images will also be simplified.

The change “does not apply to content you currently market,” Google notes.

Other characteristics

Also announced Thursday was Google’s new “Results About You” dashboard, which can show people if their contact information appears in search results, and notify them when new results appear with their information. The new tool also allows people to immediately ask Google to remove this information from search results.

This doesn’t mean that Google will remove information from offending web pages, but with search results removed, it will be much harder for others to find them.

Google has also released its new SafeSearch setting, a feature that can filter out graphically violent or pornographic images that appear in search results. It has now become a default setting, automatically flagging and blurring such content. Users can adjust or disable these settings at any time, unless their account is supervised by a parent or school network administrator.

Google is also making parental controls easier to access. When someone types in relevant keywords, such as “Google Parental Controls” or “Google Family Link,” an information box will appear with information on how to access and manage the controls.

“We know it’s important to stay in control of your online experience,” Google said in a press release. “These new tools and updates are just a few of the many ways we’re continuing to make Google the safest way to search.”

Google faces censorship demand

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Google and YouTube for alleged censorship.

In a 27-page complaint, Mr. Kennedy alleged that YouTube removed videos of his interviews and speeches in violation of his First Amendment rights. He also argued that the Google-owned platform “will continue to do so throughout the presidential campaign, especially as the primaries approach.”

Among the removed videos were his speech at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and interviews with Canadian professor Jordan Peterson and podcast host Joe Rogan. YouTube flagged these videos as containing “misinformation” about COVID-19 vaccines.

“While we allow content with an educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context, such as news reports, the content we removed from this channel was raw footage and did not provide sufficient context,” YouTube wrote to Mr. Kennedy after the videos were removed. according to court documents.

According to Mr. Kennedy, “only part” of the New Hampshire speech “dealt with his views on vaccines or COVID-19.” Instead, he discussed the Democratic National Committee’s plan to replace New Hampshire with South Carolina as the first state to vote in the 2024 presidential primary, as well as his environmental activism. But “YouTube removed everything,” he said.

Since he is running for the presidency, argued Mr. Kennedy, YouTube is required to act as a public forum and allow his speech. In 2021, Instagram banned him for his vaccine content, but he ended up restoring his account this May when he declared his candidacy. That’s because Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has a policy of not fact-checking political candidates and allowing candidates an equal platform.

“YouTube has not treated Mr. Kennedy any differently now that he is a political candidate,” says the lawsuit, which contrasts its treatment by Meta. “If anything, Mr. Kennedy’s candidacy, and the public interest issues he speaks about, have made him an even bigger target for the public/private censorship regime of which Google and YouTube are an integral part.”

YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.