Sexualized images on X: what we are doing to stop them and what we expect from the EU
Documented networks of X accounts openly promoting non-consensual 'nudify' tools; a reported post was deemed non-violating, and X refused a DSA Art. 40.12 data request, blocking research (context to the EU's DSA fine on X).
Executive summary
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This AlgorithmWatch piece documents networks of accounts on X that openly promote non-consensual "nudify" and image-sexualization tools, and describes the organization's attempt to investigate them using Digital Services Act Article 40 data-access requests. Researchers compared platform responses across X, Meta, Apple, and Google, finding that Apple and Google provided relatively straightforward access and Meta imposed burdensome but workable rules, while X refused the data request outright, asserting the research did not demonstrate a link to systemic risks under DSA Article 34.
The piece notes that a reported post promoting a nudification tool was assessed by X as non-violating, and situates this refusal within the broader context of the European Commission's roughly €120 million DSA fine against X for failing to provide researcher access to public data, alongside prior reporting on these tool networks by outlets such as The Guardian and Bellingcat.
The authors conclude that continued platform obstruction of independent research access impedes efforts to understand and address gender-based online harms, and argue for stronger EU enforcement of data-access obligations.
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