Now that we’re a month into lockdown, you’ve probably spent a considerable amount of your social life (read: all) on video messaging platforms. While it’s admittedly a great way to stay connected with friends when you’re most likely cooped up in a cramped London flatshare, or enjoying a second wave of teenage angst at your parents house, it’s also led to some pretty raunchy gatherings: introducing the virtual sex party.
According to Rolling Stone, Zoom – the popular teleconferencing app – has become an unlikely gathering place for COVID-19 era millennials wanting to partake in “play parties” (AKA virtual chats where you can jerk off in the company of other socially-distanced people).
In short, Zoom’s not happy about it, and it’s using machine learning to identify accounts in violation of its policies, which strictly prohibit “displays of nudity, violence, pornography, sexuality explicit material, or criminal activity”.
“We encourage users to report suspected violations of our policies, and we use a mix of tools, including machine learning, to proactively identify accounts that may be in violation,” a spokesperson for Zoom told Rolling Stone.
While the platform hasn’t specified what sort of machine-learning tools it’s using, or how the technology alerts the platform to pornographic content, a spokesperson said that it’ll take a “number of actions” against those caught in the act.
Meanwhile, rival video platform Houseparty is offering $1 million for info on an alleged smear campaign, which claims users have been getting their accounts hacked and personal information stolen. Basically, the internet’s reverted into the Wild West, and we love it.