ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Sextortion victims are often embarrassed, frightened the criminal will share their nude photos on social media so they never tell anyone.

This new tool being embraced by social media companies called “Take it Down” may help.

The people behind “Take it Down” say they created it in response to those concerns. Anyone experiencing some type of sextortion or online enticement can get help with removing photos and videos online anonymously.

The National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children developed “Take it Down.” The tool allows victims to mark photos for removal from internet platforms by visiting a website.

It directs them to point to that picture or video on their phone or computer. It won’t upload that picture to the national center. No one can recreate that picture using the hash value. It is private.

A hash value is this string of numbers and letters that is unique to each image file.

It’s like a digital fingerprint. By reporting that unique string of characters, social platforms will see that it has been flagged and can remove it and block it from being shared.

“We want kids to know there is assistance available for them if they find themselves in this situation. And they have been pressured to take that picture,” they say.

Sextortion has been linked to many teen suicides in recent years because victims, usually 14-17-year-olds, are too embarrassed to report it and feel like there’s no way out.

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