CSAR: 80+Child Rights Orgs Urge EU leaders Not to Step Back in Protecting Children Online

Saatja: Isaline Wittorski <[email protected]> Saadetud: 09.11.2023 18:03

Adressaat: SiM info <[email protected]> Teema: CSAR: 80+Child Rights Orgs Urge EU leaders Not to Step Back in Protecting

Children Online Manused: image001.png; image002.png; image003.png; image004.png; image005.png; image006.png; image007.png; image008.png

TÄHELEPANU! Tegemist on väljastpoolt asutust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile

mitte avada!

80+ Child Rights Organisations Urge EU leaders Not to Step Back in Protecting Children Online

[Download the letter here]

9 November 2023 Dear Minister Lauri Läänemets, We, a coalition of over 80 organisations and survivors committed to advancing children’s

rights and the elimination of sexual abuse, would like to share with you our deep concern at the recent developments in the negotiations on the proposed EU Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. The recent compromise announced by the European Parliament would lead to a significant step back from the current situation in the protection of children online . The proposed compromise would eliminate the ability for platforms to voluntarily detect for online child sexual abuse, not allow for the detection of grooming or solicitation of minors, and would restrict the technology to detect to such a small group of individuals that the Regulation

would fall short in tackling these crimes at scale. Our message is simple and clear: we cannot accept a step backwards in the protection of children online. It has been proved that comprehensive detection of child sexual abuse

saves lives and rescues children from danger. A weak legal framework will immediately lead to reducing the number of the reports and, therefore, the number of children and victims protected. In 2021, we saw a drop of 58% in reporting when no legislation was in place to allow platforms to detect, remove and report child sexual abuse online. We are at risk of history repeating itself.

 Targeted detection of suspects is not workable in practice due to the scale of the phenomenon online - platforms detected 99% of the 88.3 million images and

videos of child sexual abuse online reported last year. If we only allow detection of images and videos when a suspect is identified, we will limit the detection to an extremely small number of cases and children, enabling potential abusers to easily

perpetrate below the radar of law enforcement. As the Commissaire Gabrielle HAZAN,

Cheffe de l'Office Mineurs de la Direction Nationale de la Police Judiciaire, says: “If we stop detecting, investigators will go blind, if we stop detecting, we simply give up on protecting our children.”

 Voluntary detection is critical: without voluntary detection, platforms are not able to properly safeguard their services and to protect children. Significant protection

gaps will arise during the long process leading to a detection order.  Preventing online and offline manifestations of child sexual abuse is an essential part

of the solution. Deciding against detecting grooming means that we give up on the possibility of preventing future harm from happening in the first place.

Every second, at least 2 pictures or videos of child sexual abuse is published online and reports of grooming increased by 82% from 2021 to 2022. This is a fundamental

breach of the rights of the children depicted in the picture or video to protection and privacy. In January 2023 alone, Meta disabled more than 490,000 accounts for violating its child safety policies. Behind every picture and act of grooming, there’s a child who is suffering harm or who will suffer as a result of that picture being shared. Every image counts and is vital to protecting children. Today, survivors’ number one demand is clear: “detect and remove”. They can’t keep walking in the streets with the fear of being recognised and with no way to stop images of the worst time of their lives from being shared online again and again. Their privacy must be protected too. We trust that the co-legislators will not fail children in the midst of a child sexual abuse online crisis. Now is the time to ensure a workable, solid and effective EU regulation is negotiated and fit for its purpose. We call on the co-legislators of the EU, to fulfill your commitment to protect children against sexual abuse, by ensuring the detection of all illegal CSAM

materials and grooming, in all online spaces where children are.

Signed by:

Activists and survivors of childhood sexual violence Florence Elie, Matthew McVarish, Mié Kohiyama, Patricia Cardona Roca, Patrick Sandford, Virginie Peyré. Organisations committed to advancing children’s rights and the elimination of sexual abuse

1. "Hope For Children" CRC Policy Center

2. #IWAS association

3. Agarrados à Net / Clinging on the Net

4. ARSIS Association for the Social Support of Youth

5. Asociația Eliberare (eLiberare)

6. Association for action against violence and trafficking in human beings-Open Gate/La Strada

7. BeBraveFrance

8. Bens Place (Survivors West Yorkshire)

9. Brave UK

10. Bund Deutscher Amateurtheater (BDAT)

11. CAMELEON Association France

12. Canadian Centre for Child Protection

13. Center for Missing and Exploited Children

14. Central Union for Child Welfare / Lastensuojelun Keskusliitto

15. Centro Integrado de Apoio Familiar (CIAF)

16. Cesta z krize

17. Child Focus

18. Child Helpline International

19. ChildFund Alliance

20. Childnet International

21. ChildX

22. COFACE Families Europe

23. CRCA/ECPAT Albania

24. Defence for Children - ECPAT Netherlands

25. Different & Equal

26. Digital Opportunities Foundation / Stiftung Digitale Chancen

27. ECPAT Austria

28. ECPAT Bulgaria - Neglected Children and Women Foundation

29. ECPAT France

30. ECPAT International

31. ECPAT Norway

32. ECPAT Sweden

33. Élien Rebirth

34. Emmanuel Development Association

35. Empowering Children Foundation (Fundacja Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę)

36. Enough Is Enough

37. Eurochild

38. Federación de Asociaciones para la Prevención del Maltrato Infantil - ECPAT Spain

39. Foundation Together Albania

40. Halley Movement Coalition

41. Happy Kids Foundation

42. Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation - ECPAT Hungary

43. ICOSE

44. IJM Deutschland

45. Innocence in Danger e.V.

46. INSTITUTO DE APOIO À CRIANÇA

47. International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC)

48. International Justice Mission Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children

49. International Justice Mission Nederland

50. Internet Watch Foundation

51. iSIGURT.AL - National Hotline on Internet Child Safety - Albania

52. ISPCC

53. Justice Initiative Portugal

54. Lasten perusoikeudet - Children´s Fundamental Rights ry

55. Latvian Safer Internet Centre

56. Les Ami(e)s de Romy

57. Lightup Norway

58. Lucy Faithfull Foundation

59. Marie Collins Foundation

60. Missing Children Europe

61. MiudosSegurosNa.Net / KidsSafeOnThe.Net

62. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

63. National Network for Children - Bulgaria

64. Network for Children's Rights (NCR) - Δίκτυο για τα Δικαιώματα του Παιδιού

65. NGO “Stop sexting”

66. NSPCC

67. One in Four

68. PFAD Bundesverband der Pflege- und Adoptivfamilien e.V.

69. Protect Children, Suojellaan Lapsia ry

70. Quebrar o Silêncio

71. Save the Children

72. SWGfL

73. Terre des Hommes France

74. Terre des Hommes International Federation

75. Terre des Hommes Italia

76. Terre des Hommes Netherlands

77. The Brave Movement

78. The Smile of the Child

79. Thorn

80. Together for Girls

81. Vatra Psycho Social Center

82. WeProtect Global Alliance

83. Women against Violence Europe Network (WAVE Network)

84. World Vision EUREP

-- Isaline Wittorski (she/her) Regional Coordinator - EU (Based in Belgium)

ECPAT International Working together to end the sexual exploitation of children www.ecpat.org For more information visit us at: