The protection of our children is paramount, and we must take all reasonable measures to protect them online just as we do in our neighborhoods and on the streets.
The crime of sexually abusing children is beyond evil. Taking on this online calls for global answers to a global problem. Each of us must do our share.
We are teaming together with nations around the world to demand more from digital companies because of this.
The government is ensuring that the sector accepts its duty to keep children safe online by working with international partners, child safety organizations, and survivors of child sexual abuse.
85 million photographs and videos of child sexual abuse were reported by international technology companies in 2021, totaling to more than 29 million suspected incidents of child sexual abuse content on their platforms.
In response to these complaints, UK law enforcement interviews or detains individuals on average per month, protecting about 1,000 children.
Some of these youngsters are just six months old. I’ve heard in terrifying detail the effects of such abuse on victims for the rest of their lives. We must take all necessary steps to halt it.
The Online Safety Bill is a piece of new legislation that aims to make the UK the safest place to use the internet.
The bill has been created to safeguard users’ right to privacy and freedom of expression as well as their safety.
Although we don’t want to censor anyone or limit free speech, we must take more aggressive measures to stop these heinous, incredibly devastating actions.
Platforms’ capacity to identify child sexual abuse is greatly reduced by features like end-to-end encryption. Regardless of the tools they employ, there is a clear legal obligation under the Online Safety Bill to prevent, identify, and remove child sexual abuse content.
This is a moral requirement that cannot be rationally disputed.
In order to ensure that tech businesses must build or source technologies to manage risks, independent of their design decisions, we plan to update and enhance the bill. If they don’t, Ofcom will have the authority to punish them up to £18 million or 10% of their global annual turnover, whichever is higher.
As a result, innovation will be encouraged and effective safety systems will be developed throughout the sector, making it impossible for criminals to hide online.
The use of encryption technologies responsibly is supported heartily by the UK government.
They are frequently employed by banks to safeguard customers’ financial information and prevent unauthorized access or usage when they bank or shop online in the UK.
However, the deployment of end-to-end encryption or other technology in a way that purposefully prevents businesses from recognizing heinous child sex abuse occurring on their platforms will have a terrible effect on children’s safety.
The UK’s National Crime Agency is in charge of the legal system’s reaction to child sex abuse.
The agency tirelessly pursues those who groom and abuse our children by collaborating with regional and local police forces as well as technological businesses that now detect and report cases of suspected child sexual abuse on their platforms.
This will be far more difficult if end-to-end encryption is introduced without the necessary safety mitigations in place.
It will dramatically weaken the capacity of tech firms and law enforcement to identify online child sex abuse. Clearly, this is intolerable.
We think it’s feasible to deploy end-to-end encryption in a way that protects users’ right to privacy and guarantees children’s online safety, along with other child safety and IT experts.
In order to draft the measure, we have already collaborated with child protection organizations and tech firms.
And we’ll keep listening and talking. However, the protection of our children is of the utmost importance, and I will stop at nothing to ensure their safety.
Our amendments to the Online Safety Bill will make it possible for digital companies to safeguard children from predators in the best way possible while upholding our right to privacy.
They will do this in collaboration with governments, child protection organizations, and law enforcement.
The time has come for tech businesses to take action and build upon the innovation from that fund using their resources and engineering knowledge. It is necessary to protect our kids from the worst predators.