Abuse of nude images can happen to anyone!
Victims then fight for years to get the images removed from the internet. Meanwhile, Google and other tech giants profit from them.
One client of HateAid – pseudonym Laura – found intimate images of herself in a Google search, both real and deepfakes, linked to her real name and ID card. The content was spread through international porn websites and file-sharing services, made discoverable (and further circulated) through Google.
With the help of HateAid, Laura reported over 4,000 links containing stolen nudes of herself. Still, the images keep resurfacing. The term for this is: "image-based sexual abuse" (IBSA).
Companies like Google profit from the spread of intimate photos or sexualized deepfakes. They make cash with every click. And the victims pay: with shame and with fear. Sometimes they even feel forced – like Laura – to cut all ties and start over.
This practice violates the right to be forgotten: a data protection claim that allows victims to demand the deletion of their personal data. This right is anchored in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Supported by HateAid, Laura is now taking Google to court. And HateAid has just launched the campaign "Our nudes are not your business!" Their demands: Big Tech must be held accountable by politicians. Platforms must be obliged to ensure that such material becomes unfindable, instead of being shown again and again.
"Laura is not an isolated case," says the petition. "It can happen to anyone – and it does. Images are stolen, secretly taken in the shower, or simply faked with one click in nudification or face-swap apps. These images then end up online – scattered across many small pornographic websites. But they all converge in one place: the search engine. Because Google makes these most intimate images and videos visible to millions in the first place. (…) But it's not just about Google. App stores, payment services, and hosting providers also profit from the suffering of women like Laura. They earn money when platforms and apps create and spread nude images and videos – for example, through transaction or hosting fees."
Petition link: Our nudes are not your business — HateAid
▶️ https://hateaid.org/petition-notyourbusiness/?mtm_campaign=ibsa-notyourbusiness?mtm_kwd=LinkedIn-nataschahoffner-Petition-Launch
I am very happy to support this important cause and the petition. Because it's about protection from violence – which particularly affects women – about personal safety, and about human dignity!
Posted by Natascha Hoffner, Founder & CEO of herCAREER | Recipient of the FTAfelicitas Award from Femtec.Alumnae e.V. | LinkedIn Top Voice 2020 | Editor of the "Women of the Year" books published by Callwey Verlag
published on LinkedIn on 03.09.2025
