Reporting Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery: An Audit Study of Deepfakes

Abstract

Non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) inflicts significant harm. Currently, victim-survivors can use two mechanisms to report NCII online—as a non-consensual nudity violation or as copyright infringement. We conducted an audit study of takedown speed of NCII reported to X (formerly Twitter) of both mechanisms. We uploaded 50 AI-generated nude images and reported half under X’s “non-consensual nudity” reporting mechanism and half under its “copyright infringement” mechanism. The copyright condition resulted in successful image removal within 25 hours for all images (100% removal rate), while non-consensual nudity reports resulted in no image removal for over three weeks (0% removal rate). We stress the need for targeted legislation to regulate NCII removal online and discuss ethical considerations for auditing NCII on social platforms.