Google rolls out new tool to help kids and teens remove their images from search results

Google on Wednesday, 27 October, announced that it will now be making it easier for minors or their parents to have photos of them deleted from search results. According to a blog post by Google, the company said that it is rolling out a tool that lets parents and kids under the age of 18 request pictures to be removed from the platform’s images tab or no longer appear as thumbnails in a search inquiry. 

"We know that kids and teens have to navigate some unique challenges online, especially when a picture of them is unexpectedly available on the internet," the company said in the blog post. It added, "We believe this change will help give young people more control over their digital footprint and where their images can be found on Search."

As per the blog, the new policy will now allow users to flag URLs of any images or search results that contain pictures they want to be removed. The search engine said that its team will review each submission and reach out if they need additional information to verify the requirements for removal. However, Google also emphasised that under the new policy, the company will not be able to remove images from the internet entirely. People will need to contact a website’s webmaster to ask for the content to be removed, it said. 

Experts applaud Google’s new policy 

After Google announced its latest policy, some experts applauded the same and said that it will give minors more control over images. According to CNN, the removal of pictures could cut down cyber-bullying or prevent potentially harmful information or photos from persisting online. David Monahan, campaign manager at Fairplay, a child advocacy group, said that he was “glad to see Google take this overdue step” to give kids and their families more control over what images show up in search results. 

Separately, Alexandra Hamlet, a clinical psychologist who works with teenagers, reportedly said that Google’s request process could also help parents talk more openly with their kids about managing their online presence. Hamlet added that the latest move could also include discussing what’s worthy of consideration for removal, such as photos that could harm their future reputation versus one where they perceive to look less than “perfect”. Meanwhile, the latest move comes amid criticism from experts and US lawmakers about how various platforms impact young users. According to CNN, earlier, an executive from Google-owned YouTube was even grilled by US Senators about the steps that platform is taking to protect their young users. 

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