Microsoft is taking a stand against "revenge porn" with a new website that puts victims in control of their own images.

The Internet trend, in which sexually explicit content is posted to the Web without the permission of those involved, can threaten personal and business relationships, and has even led to suicide.

"Much needs to be done to address the problem," Jacqueline Beauchere, Microsoft Chief Online Safety Officer, wrote in a blog post. "As a first step, we want to help put victims back in control of their images and their privacy."

Redmond this week launched a new website, where people can report inappropriate content and ask for its removal from Bing search results, as well as OneDrive and Xbox Live.

The form requires your name, the URLs you want removed, and an honest answer about whether you provided consent for distribution; other details like additional documentation and contact information are also requested.

Available now in English, the site will be expanded in the coming weeks to include other languages. Microsoft's link removals will be applied globally.

"Clearly, this reporting mechanism is but one small step in a growing and much-needed effort across the public and private sectors to address the problem," Beauchere said.

Despite its global reach, the new program does not actually scrub content from the Internet; it merely removes it from search results. "Victims still need stronger protections across the Web and around the world," Beauchere added.

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Google last month implemented a similar program, promising to honor requests to remove from search results nude or sexually explicit content shared without consent. A websitesimilar to the "right to be forgotten" form used in the European Unionis live on support.google.com.

Twitter, meanwhile, recently introduced new rules for user behavior, adding to sections concerning "private information" and "threats and abuse," and making it clear that the microblogging site frowns heavily on posting inappropriate images without third-party consent.

Earlier this year, the FTC banned revenge porn site operator Craig Brittain from posting risqué images without people's consent, and ordered him to destroy his collection. A month later, revenge porn purveyor Hunter Moore pleaded guilty to hacking and identity theft charges, admitting he paid someone to break into private email accounts and steal sexually explicit images. Ironically, Brittain later requested that certain mentions of him be scrubbed from the Web.

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