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

TL;DR

The paper investigates how reporting mechanisms affect the removal of non-consensual intimate media (NCIM) on X (Twitter). Using an audit with 50 AI-generated nude images across five deepfake personas, it shows that DMCA takedowns remove NCIM content within a mean of about 20–25 hours, while internal non-consensual nudity reports fail to remove content within 21 days. This reveals a substantial policy and enforcement gap between legally backed mechanisms and platform-internal policies. The authors argue for federally mandated NCIM legislation and enhanced platform accountability to protect victim-survivors and improve content moderation practices.

Abstract

Non-consensual intimate media (NCIM) inflicts significant harm. Currently, victim-survivors can use two mechanisms to report NCIM - as a non-consensual nudity violation or as copyright infringement. We conducted an audit study of takedown speed of NCIM 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 NCIM removal online. We also discuss ethical considerations for auditing NCIM on social platforms.

Figures (10)

• Figure 1: We audit two NCIM reporting mechanisms on X. In the first condition, we report under X's non-consensual nudity policy, a privacy report belonging to "safety and sensitive content". In the second condition, we use the DMCA, a copyright report under "intellectual property".
• Figure 2: Method: We created five unique AI-personas, and made a total of 50 posts on X via 10 new accounts called poster accounts. We then reported 25 of the images as non-consensual nudity and 25 as DMCA violations. Finally, we collected data on the time to remove and other reporting outcomes.
• Figure 3: Findings: 25 NCIM images reported under DMCA/copyright were removed within approximately 25 hours after reporting. 25 NCIM images reported under X's non-consensual nudity policy were not removed for the 21-day duration of the study.
• Figure 4: Removal times for images reported under the DMCA condition, organized by the unique photo. The mean time for DMCA removals for all 25 images is 20.30 hours. The fastest case took approximately 13 hours.
• Figure 5: All five poster accounts reported under the DMCA condition were temporarily restricted. Poster accounts reported under the non-consensual nudity condition had no consequences.