SafeToNet reposted this
I hope this article, which is a tough read, can raise enough awareness so that children harmed via livestream is recognised as the fastest growing channel/medium. It’s time to talk about this otherwise people don’t realise it’s happening. I just don’t understand why it isn’t getting through to policy makers to bring livestream into scope. Not just on platforms and services but via the camera of smart devices. Technology does exist to detect and prevent. Thank you for highlighting this John Tanagho Michael Keller The New York Times
Excellent investigative journalism and reporting by Michael Keller of the The New York Times on the massive, ongoing "pay-per-view" sexual abuse of mostly poor children that is livestreamed for offenders globally--with the United States being the "number one consumer" of such abuse. https://lnkd.in/gMCEWnMy Keller found nearly 100 US federal criminal cases of men paying for, directing, consuming child sexual abuse live on popular, easily accessible video-chat or livestreaming apps. Only the tip of the iceberg with U.S. law enforcement reportedly investigating ".0001 of the actual abuse that's occurring." Because, as we know, it's not being detected and reported. International Justice Mission research with the Rights Lab University of Nottingham and Dr Emily Wyman an estimated nearly half a million Filipino children were abused in 2022 to create new CSAM for sale, often in livestreams: https://lnkd.in/g9sMXvVT And that's just in one country. I'm hoping and praying that this is the watershed moment to awaken the world--governments, corporations, civil society, communities, everyday consumers, the entire digital ecosystem--to the urgent need to protect children from livestreamed sexual abuse on common, easily available apps and platforms--ones even more popular and commonly used than those in the article, according to German media reporting on the 59-year-old livestreaming offender https://lnkd.in/giZ-eAvY). A strong justice system response is essential for sure and will protect vulnerable populations, but in light of the hidden and global nature of these crimes and the massive scale, children being victimized need tech and financial sector companies to treat this behavior as the active "live" crime scene on their platforms that it is--detect, disrupt, deter, report. Hany Farid Ian Stevenson Michael Salter Michael Tunks Sean Litton Iain Drennan Marija Manojlovic Daniela Ligiero (she/her) Harriet Grant Rick Brown Julie Inman - Grant Melanie Dawes Amber Hawkes Laetitia Ohnona John Shehan Brandon Kaopuiki David Ruggiero, CAMS, CFE Sharon Pursey OBE Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. Heat Initiative Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) "On These Apps, the Dark Promise of Mothers Sexually Abusing Children: Smartphone apps downloaded from Apple and Google can allow parents and other abusers to connect with pedophiles who pay to watch — and direct — criminal behavior." https://lnkd.in/gMCEWnMy