Influx of Younger Social Media Users Proves Need for Enhanced Protection from Illicit Visual Content

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Internet access is everywhere, mobile and frequent, and social media is attracting younger and younger demographics. According to a study by the Pew Research Center examining the behavior of teenagers online, 76 percent of teens are currently active on social networking sites. Additionally, Facebook has a reported 93 percent usage rate among teens. With this high usage rate demonstrated by the younger population, an enhanced and innovative content moderation system to ensure the safety of those users is needed now more than ever. In accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act’s rule that children must be older than 13 years old in order for online companies to gather personal information, social media networks are enforcing the strict age limit of 13 and older; however, results from a Consumer Reports study show that an estimated 5.6 million children under the required age limit are on social networks. The current solution for protection relies primarily on human supervision. ImageVision, however, amplifies this approach by offering technology capable of regulating more online material faster, in a cost-effective manner and without compromising accuracy or thoroughness.

“By replacing human moderators, social media networks serve their users more efficiently and slash costs”

“Our technology scans for nudity and illicit content in videos and images as well as inappropriate text in real-time, which simply can’t be done manually,” said Steven W. White, president and CEO, ImageVision. “We are able to give social media networks the ability to protect their advertisers and brand with a fast filtering process without breaking the bank, which can ultimately lead to a more enjoyable and safe experience for all subscribers.”

ImageVision’s advanced filtering solutions ensure the safety of young users joining social networks by discarding inappropriate material in accordance with community terms of service at a faster rate than the human moderation technique that many popular social networks deploy. ImageVision’s technology allows social media networks to reduce the need to rely primarily on manual processes. This could help these companies cut their content security expenses by more than 70 percent.

“By replacing human moderators, social media networks serve their users more efficiently and slash costs,” said White. “ImageVision is changing the game in terms of how social media companies moderate content. As the first company to provide automated, real-time filtering of images and video in addition to text, ImageVision sets the new standard for speed, accuracy and volume of content that can be moderated.”

Recently securing Series B funding, ImageVision plans to continue enhancing the way content is kept safe and improving the social media experience for young users. Additionally, the funding will 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.

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.