Increased Sexting Activity Among Youth Prompts Demand for Cyber Protection

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A recent study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch explored the impacts of sexting on public health and revealed that sexting is a growing problem amongst a younger demographic. Results showed that 28 percent of adolescents have sent a nude picture of themselves through various electronic mediums. Additionally, 57 percent have been asked to send a nude picture, and 31 percent have asked for a nude picture to be sent to them. Born out of the necessity to protect people from unwanted explicit material, ImageVision developed visual filtering software to provide a solution to this troubling situation after a co-founder’s teenage daughter was sent an unsolicited photo message.

“A few years ago, the 13-year-old daughter of my co-founder unsuspectingly received an indecent photo from a teenaged boy on her cell phone at school. When he went looking for software to prevent these images from being delivered to her phone, he couldn’t find any”

“A few years ago, the 13-year-old daughter of my co-founder unsuspectingly received an indecent photo from a teenaged boy on her cell phone at school. When he went looking for software to prevent these images from being delivered to her phone, he couldn’t find any,” said Steven W. White, president and CEO, ImageVision. “There were plenty of programs that could block adult language, but no programs that could analyze a photo to detect if it was pornographic in nature. That’s when we knew that something had to be done.”

White, along with his partners at ImageVision, developed advanced filtering software to continuously monitor and eliminate inappropriate, objectionable and degrading material that could potentially harm users. The technology is unique in that it allows for automatic and real-time detection, as the content is being shared. The software not only recognizes visual elements like sexual graphic pictures, it can recognize key words or phrases classified as sexually explicit content.

“We know that sexting is becoming more prevalent, and there are many ways that young people can engage in it, which is what really distinguishes ImageVision from many online security products because we are able to act on user generated visual content,” said White. “ImageVision brings assurance to individuals who are at risk of being exposed to visually illicit and graphic material. That assurance is a major influencer in our daily operations, as we are trying to the make the digital world a safer and more user-friendly environment for all users.”

ImageVision has made progressive strides to accomplish its goals of eradicating sexting and has recently completed Series B funding. With the funding, ImageVision plans to continue taking the appropriate measures to ensure the moderation of explicit content. The funding will also be used to increase technology development staff by 33 percent, as well as boost sales and marketing support in South America and the Asia-Pacific region over the next year to expand its efforts outside North America.

About ImageVision

ImageVision is the leading pioneer in content safety with the first real-time platform to filter offensive graphic- and text-based content in user-generated and shared videos, images, URLs or messages. With ImageVision, social media companies, mobile device manufacturers and mobile operators can cost-effectively protect consumers, employees and advertisers from illicit content. Learn more about ImageVision by visiting http://www.imagevision.com/ or join the conversation about clean content on Facebook and Twitter.