Every user photo on major platforms is screened against a known-child-pornography database

Evidence

Instagram, every image you pin on Pinterest, every snap on Snapchat, is quickly and automatically compared to the NCMEC database to make sure it is not child pornography. — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet, 312

Categorization

• SHARE: A striking fact that most people don’t know: their ordinary photos are hashed against NCMEC’s archive behind the scenes.
• SEED: Good opening hook for an essay about the hidden surveillance embedded in everyday photo uploads.
• XREF: connects to: Flag interfaces cannot express civic defense of troubling content — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet: Platforms,…, 286