Dutch Startup Leakserv Takes Aim At Revenge Porn
Dutch startup Leakserv is playing in the online identity management space, with a special focus on helping victims of revenge porn who want specific content taken offline.
The issue of revenge porn has gathered more attention in recent years, with major search engines and tech platforms taking a firmer stance on this particular form of online harassment. Last summer, for instance, Google and Microsoft created formal processes for victims wanting to request the removal from search results of intimate content leaked online without their permission.
Content platform companies including Reddit, Medium, Twitter and Facebook also tackled the issue last year, taking a firmer stance against revenge porn dissemination, specifically, or against harassment on their platforms in general. Only this month Twitter, for instance, announced it was forming a trust and safety council comprised of external organizations from various advocacy groups to try to ensure ‘safer speech’ on its platform.
But the Internet remains a much wider web than a few walled garden platforms. So while it may be harder for revenge porn to be disseminated on mainstream content outlets than in years past, there’s no shortage of alternative sites willing to host this stuff. And that’s where Leakserv comes in — offering a service to victims to track down offending content and issue takedown requests on their behalf to get it removed (generally within 24 to 48 hours, is the claim).
Click here to read the full interview Techcrunch had with Leakserv cofounder Bart van Leeuwen.
Source: Techcrunch. Feb 15, 2016
