If offensive, private, and unwanted images and videos of individuals are circulating on the internet, it can have severe consequences for the future. With a SAFEonNET® insurance policy, companies and their employees are insured and can receive help to have images and videos removed and/or buried, which have been shared without consent.

Having unwanted content in the form of images and videos shared without one's consent is not just uncomfortable. It can also have repercussions for future careers, personal relationships, and professional collaborations if compromising and unwanted images and videos are on the internet. In an age where almost everyone Googles one another, it is essential to have control over what content exists. With an insurance policy from SAFEonNET®, both the company and its employees are guaranteed effective and competent assistance to have compromising and offensive images or videos removed or buried. SAFEonNET® covers offensive and unwanted images and videos that have been shared without consent.

Private and Compromising Images and Videos

To understand the concept of "compromising images and videos," one must clarify the definition of the verb "compromise." According to ordnet.dk, to compromise means: "to harm or present in a bad light, often through embarrassing and unpleasant revelations"[1]. Thus, it refers to images and videos where such revelations are involved and that put the exposed individual in a bad light.

[1] https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=kompromittere

It can be image and video material containing sexual, racist, political, or otherwise embarrassing and/or inappropriate content. Since one will often experience negative consequences after sharing such images and videos, it is usually individuals wishing to harm someone who are responsible for the publication. This could be ex-lovers and former partners, competitors, or others wanting to damage one's reputation, privacy, and career.

Most of us have private images and videos that should ideally remain private. If embarrassing, sexual, or otherwise compromising material is tied to one's name, it can have substantial consequences on all aspects of life. Not only does one have to mentally cope with the unpleasantness of having such images and videos publicly disclosed, but one can also risk that it has a direct negative impact on life, for example, when applying for a new job. Therefore, it is crucial to be well protected and insured in case compromising images and videos of or about oneself are shared at some point.

Sharing Videos and Images of Employees in Function Without Consent

Since we all have our phones with us all the time, both companies and public employees experience people pulling out their phones to film or take pictures of them, then sharing it on social media. There have been incidents involving the police, but also high school classes where students secretly filmed their teacher and shared the content on the internet. Although the person's identity may not necessarily be known at that time, it is both harassing, violating, and crossing boundaries for the individual. Moreover, such harassment can result in the person's identity being revealed.

With a SAFEonNET® policy, you as a company and your employees are also protected if content in the form of images and videos is shared without consent.

Long-lasting and Unmanageable Consequences

If unpleasant and embarrassing material about someone is shared and spread on the internet without their consent, it can indeed have severe consequences. First and foremost, it is violating for private material to be shared publicly on the internet, where everyone can access it. This is particularly true because we live in a digital age where searching on Google has become its own verb. Almost all Danes have at some point "googled" others to find more information about them via the internet. This is especially seen in specific situations, for instance, when applying for jobs or when meeting someone on a first date. If compromising images and videos are associated with your name and are accessible to anyone searching, it can negatively affect your life. For example, it can lead to an employer choosing to hire someone else, and a potential partner may decide to decline. The consequences of sharing compromising material in the form of images and videos can therefore become both long-lasting and unmanageable if the situation is not handled appropriately.

The Internet Doesn't Forget

We are all human, and we can all make mistakes. Most people have experienced having a bit too much to drink at a party and expressing themselves in an inappropriate or embarrassing manner. The difference is that the witnesses to such an episode will forget about it in time. However, the internet does not forget. If, for example, a humiliating image is shared on a social media platform, it may be possible for you to have it removed. But that does not mean it no longer exists on the internet. In some cases, it may still be discoverable via search engines like Google, where anyone can see it. Therefore, the consequences of compromising images and videos are often long-lasting, because they are not only present now and here but may also remain 10 or 30 years into the future. Thus, one cannot simply lean back and hope the crisis will pass on its own.

But What Can One Do?

It is especially on social media that compromising, offensive, and harassing images and videos are shared without consent. Here, one will often have the opportunity to report the material and request its removal. If it is, for example, a nude image, it will often be removed quickly, as many social platforms have strict rules regarding this. The problem, as previously mentioned, is that it may still be available via search engines like Google. Even if the material is removed from the original site, it may well have already been spread to many others. And there is essentially nothing preventing the video or image from being uploaded again. At the same time, it is incredibly difficult and often a time-consuming process to attempt to have the content removed from a search engine. Therefore, one can quickly feel powerless if they discover an unwanted video or image. It can be overwhelmingly hard and time-consuming to have the content removed, yet one cannot simply rely on it being forgotten.

Achieve Optimal Security with Insurance

SAFEonNET® consists of a range of experts who have extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of digital threats. Therefore, as a company, you can obtain insurance with SAFEonNET® that protects both you and your colleagues against digital threats, including the sharing of videos and images without consent. With this insurance, you are guaranteed help for a secure, effective, and appropriate handling of the situation, ensuring the problem is resolved as quickly as possible and damages are limited. Among other things, with expert assistance, you will receive advice and management, contact with media and search engines, as well as assistance for removing offensive material shared without consent. If it is unsuccessful in having the material removed, you will also receive help to bury the material on Google so that it is not easily found, thereby minimizing the damage as much as possible. With an insurance policy from SAFEonNET®, you achieve optimal protection and assistance in a situation involving compromising, harassing, and unwanted content.