Call for tech that protects children
Tell your MP: devices should be free from child abuse.
The UK is in the top three largest global consumers of livestreamed child sexual abuse, according to the UK National Crime Agency. Sex offenders in the UK are fuelling demand for livestreamed child abuse, which is now the main form of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
This horrific abuse is happening on every day social media platforms, facilitated through devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Write to your MP today to call on them to enact legislation that makes it a requirement for all devices sold in the UK to include on-device safeguards that can detect and prevent livestreamed child sexual abuse – putting a stop to the abuse before it starts.
Joy* in the Philippines knows the pain of livestreamed abuse. When she was just 10 years old, her aunt began abusing her for paying sex offenders in places like the UK to watch live online: "I was so scared and confused. I didn’t know what to do."
Men who abuse children online are more likely to go on to abuse children in person. In fact, men in the UK who report online sexual offending behaviours against children also report being 2.5 times more likely to seek sexual contact with children in person.
IJM UK is advocating for vital new legislation to prevent livestreamed abuse before it starts – and we need your help.
New AI-driven, on-device detection technology could disrupt livestreamed abuse, preventing offenders from livestreaming child abuse in the first place, and making children everywhere safer. Crucially, this is possible without violating privacy or breaking end-to-end encryption.
Last year, the UK Government pledged to tackle online sexual exploitation and abuse of children, with a focus on implementing robust legislation, and leveraging AI technology to detect and prevent online child sexual abuse. It has never been more important to remind our government of their commitment.
If you live in the Republic of Ireland, please write to your local TD to see what the Oireachtas is doing to protect children online. Email your MP now