MPs, tech experts, law enforcement, international partners and survivors call for technology to prevent livestreamed child sexual abuse
Summary:
The event also saw the launch of an IJM-led technical white paper, authored by experts from across technology, law enforcement and civil society, examining the feasibility of privacy-preserving tools that could block child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on devices and the role of technology in prevention of abuse.
We’re deeply grateful to parliamentary advocates Jess Phillips and Lord Nash for their powerful partnership, to survivor leader Mark and UK survivor Jamie for courageously sharing their experience of online sexual abuse, and to all who committed to playing their part in protecting children.
The call for legislative change comes amid growing concerns about the UK's role in the global market for livestreamed child sexual abuse. According to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK ranks among the top three global consumers of for-profit livestreamed child sexual abuse.
Nearly half a million children in the Philippines were trafficked to produce child sexual exploitation material in 2022 – that’s 1 in 100 children – according to the Scale of Harm prevalence study by IJM and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab. This highlights the sheer scale of demand and the need for preventative action.
IJM UK is calling for the Government to mandate the use of technology that prevents devices from being used to create, view or livestream child sexual abuse material. This would mean implementing built-in tools on smart devices which can block unambiguous CSAM at the device-level, stopping the abuse before it starts.
The need for stronger preventative measures is further underscored by data from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) which found that 73% of global child sexual abuse material was not self-generated, suggesting much of the abuse was captured on adults’ devices. This indicates that the Government’s current proposals to block nudity on children's devices would leave a significant gap in protection.
With the right safeguards built into devices, the technology that currently facilitates abuse could instead help prevent it.
John Tanagho, Executive Director of IJM’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, said, "We can choose a world in which devices do not make or display child sexual abuse material.
"Society deserves smart devices that simply will not work for capturing, viewing or livestreaming child sexual abuse. Prevention must be built into the technology we use, rather than relying solely on identifying and responding to abuse after it has happened."
IJM UK is urging the UK Government to demonstrate leadership by making preventative technology a requirement, helping to reduce demand for livestreamed child sexual abuse and protect children from exploitation.