At the start of last August, Point de Contact told WIRED that only two images on four different Microsoft servers remained. “We deeply regret that this issue took almost 10 months of communication between the victim, Microsoft and us as an NGO to be resolved,” the NGO said in an email at the time.
Microsoft digital safety chief Gregoire says Liu’s situation has spurred her team to try to improve reporting processes and relationships with victim aid groups. Point de Contact initially flagged links over which the company didn’t have control, according to Gregoire. She declined to elaborate on the circumstances. Dirani says this explanation was never communicated to him, and it remains unclear why the links were not “actionable.”
Only after Powell cornered Thomas over Liu’s case did Microsoft obtain the URLs upon which it could act. “We’re thankful, to be perfectly honest, to the spontaneous connection at TrustCon,” Gregoire says. But it shouldn’t be needed again: Point de Contact now has a more direct way to stay in touch, she says.
Other victim aid groups say their relationships with tech giants remain challenging. Last year, a WIRED investigation revealed that executives at Google rejected numerous ideas raised by staff and outside advocates that aimed to proactively counter access to problematic imagery in search results. Some survivors have found that the fastest way to get content removed is by filing copyright claims, a tactic those working in the online safety industry say is inadequate.
The lack of consistency in policies and processes among tech companies contributes to delays in securing takedowns, according to Emma Pickering, the head of technology facilitated abuse at Refuge, the UK’s largest domestic abuse organization. “They all just respond however they choose to—and the response usually is incredibly poor,” she says. (Google introduced new policies in July 2024 to accelerate removals.)
Pickering claims Microsoft, in particular, has been difficult. “I’ve recently been told if I want to engage with them, we need to provide evidence that we use their platform and we promote them,” she says, adding Refuge is trying to engage with as many tech platforms as possible.
Microsoft’s Gregoire says she will look into these concerns and is open to dialogue. The company hopes to stem the need for takedowns, in part, by scaring off perpetrators. This past December, Microsoft sued a group of 10 unknown individuals who allegedly circumvented safeguards on Azure and used an AI tool to generate offensive images, including some Gregoire described as sexually harmful. “We don’t want our services to be abused to cause harm,” she says.
For Liu, the challenges haven’t ended. Videos and images depicting her naked remain available on at least one self-styled “free porn” website, according to links reviewed by WIRED. She also has had to pour her savings into developing Alecto AI because investor support has been lackluster. Some investors allegedly told her not to use her own experience in her pitch. Liu says that when she pitched one male-female pair who were considering investing, they burst into laughter at the idea of building a business around the use of AI to detect online image abuse. Even responding that she had almost killed herself after being victimized did little to sway them, Liu says.
In December 2024, more than four and a half years since her nightmare began, Liu found a glimmer of hope. A proposal she has advocated for in the US Congress to require websites to remove unwanted explicit images within 48 hours nearly ended up on then-President Joe Biden’s desk. It was ultimately shelved, but real progress had never felt so close. Liu and a bipartisan group of over 20 lawmakers haven’t given up; in January, they reintroduced the proposal, which threatens potential penalties of up to $50,000 per violation. Despite objections from rights groups worried about over-censorship, the bill passed the Senate last week. Even Microsoft has gotten behind it.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for free, 24-hour support from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also text HOME to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. Outside the US, visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for crisis centers around the world.
