Guest post + Q&A: ‘We must hold tech bosses accountable for child safety online’ [Trigger warning - sexual abuse]

[NicolaDMumsnet]

Meta has a responsibility to protect children using their platforms. However, it is currently planning to introduce end-to-end encryption as standard across Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct.

For the past two years, as part of the #NoPlaceToHide Campaign, I’ve been calling for them to rethink their plans both as the Head of Advocacy for the Marie Collins Foundation and somebody with lived experience of this abuse. This is an issue incredibly close to my heart, and Meta’s plans will directly impact me, which is why I have chosen to speak out about it.

When I was 13 years old, I was groomed online and sexually abused. A child sex offender manipulated me into sending him a topless photo of myself, which he immediately used to blackmail me for more explicit images and for my address. He came to my home the following morning and sexually abused me, taking yet more photos.

It all happened within 24 hours, and yet I am still dealing with the impact even now, 20 years later.

I have no idea what happened to those photos. I know the police found them on his computer and they were used in the criminal justice process, but I don’t know who else has seen them or may see them in the future. I have no control over those images – I can’t ‘un-create’ them, I can’t get them back. They are out in the world for child sex abusers to view and share, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I sometimes hear people talk about this as though they are “just images”. But I can’t tell you how big an impact this has had and continues to have on me. When I think of people seeing them, I feel like a victim all over again. The thought of abusers getting satisfaction from looking at them and sharing them makes me feel physically sick. When I walk into a room or down the street, I look at people’s faces and can’t help but think: “have you seen images of me being sexually abused when I was 13? Do you recognise me?”

I remember the moment I learned that we have technological tools and people working very hard to detect and remove child sexual abuse material. I immediately felt a wave of relief knowing that even if my images were shared, they would be found and taken down quickly.

Meta’s plan to introduce end-to-end encryption snatches that relief away from me again. It is utterly devastating.The information that Meta and other tech platforms send to UK law enforcement contributes to over 800 arrests of child sex abusers and safeguards around 1,200 children per month. Meta is the biggest contributor to these reports. In 2022, there were 31.8 million reports of child sexual abuse material made to NCMEC, and of these 21.1 million came from Facebook and 5 million from Instagram.

If Meta continues with their plan, they will be unable to see child sexual abuse happening on their platforms and, therefore, will be unable to report it. This will allow abusers to groom and abuse children without detection, and poses a catastrophic risk to children.

The debate around end-to-end encryption has long been framed as a binary choice that we must make: privacy vs children’s safety. This isn’t true, but I’d like to say that I’m all for strong privacy measures – after all, my privacy is infringed by the fact that the images of my abuse are out there and could be shared. I think this is a key point that has been missed because victims and survivors have not been included in the discussions: we deserve privacy too!

The fact is experts have demonstrated that it would be technically feasible to detect child sexual abuse within an end-to-end encrypted environment whilst maintaining strong user privacy. Meta needs to urgently invest in these technologies to create a solution for their platforms; however it is choosing not to.

It is one of the biggest tech companies in the world, with truly significant resources at its fingertips.They have the power to make positive change in this area, and yet they are choosing to turn a blind eye to the protection of children. We must all tell them that this is not OK, that they must safeguard children, and that they cannot give child sex abusers a place to hide.

^^Rhiannon has partnered with the Home Office and Internet Watch Foundation to create a guide for parents about end-to-end encryption and how to help keep your child safe online. Read the parent guide here.

Rhiannon and the Security Minister Tom Tugendhat will be returning to this thread on Friday 10th October at 3:30pm to answer questions. If you have a question for either of them, please leave it below.

@HuskyOwner89 I think social media has a lot of positives to offer for children and young people, and I wouldn't want to see them being prevented from using it or excluded from what is an important part of modern life. It is for the platforms themselves to ensure that they are truly safe for children.

@AndApplePie, @RhiannonMCF is right here – it will definitely make a difference. Social media companies should and are currently working with the Government to help identify and report child sexual abuse – with hundreds of thousands of reports of child sexual abuse being sent each year to the National Crime Agency, our top crime fighters. These reports lead to the arrests and children safeguarded that Rhiannon has spoken about.

@HuskyOwner89, @RhiannonMCF is right.

Children should be able to use social media sites safely at the appropriate age. The Government is committed to making the UK the safest place to be online – but this will only happen if social media companies clean up their act and make their platforms safer.

We’ve given Ofcom tough powers to ensure that those companies that aren’t taking action to keep children safe are putting in place strong measures to detect and prevent abuse.

As Security Minister I more have to deal with serious criminals and terrorists. What’s shocked me most since I took on this role is that some of the worst things I see aren’t about that but about our children. I wasn’t prepared for the horrific examples of offending I’ve seen or the level of threat that children face.

Ultimately as a parent you’ll have to make that your own decisions on risk. I can tell you that my views have changed and I’m now much more conscious of my own kids’ environment, including online. The government will keep doing everything we can to protect children from dangers online, but we can’t do that alone. These companies and the threats they carry cross borders. The danger to children will only rise on platforms like Instagram if the changes Meta are making go through.

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the Q&A on this really important issue. I hope you’ve found it interesting.

It’s so important to keep children safe online and I promise I will keep doing what I can to make sure children are protected.

If you want more information on E2EE you can visit: End-to-end encryption and child safety - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For information about keeping children safe online, you can read a guide we developed with the Internet Watch Foundation: e2ee-parent-guide.pdf (iwf.org.uk)

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and submit your questions. Thanks also to @UKSecurityMinister for joining me in answering the questions and Mumsnet for facilitating such an important discussion.

I'd like to finish off by saying that this is a tough topic for many, but I'm all too aware that it may be particularly difficult for anybody who has lived experience of technology-assisted child sexual abuse or is close to somebody who has. If you need additional information, help or support:

The Marie Collins Foundation provides support to victims of technology-assisted child sexual abuse and their families. They also provide advice and support to professionals working with victims and their families.

If you think a child is at immediate risk call 999.

Anybody (including children, parents/carers, or professionals) concerned about online sexual abuse or grooming can report to the National Crime Agency’s CEOP Safety Centre by visiting www.ceop.police.uk.

Young people up to the age of 19 who have been impacted by sexual abuse, or any other issue, can contact Childline for free, non-judgemental and confidential support and advice, 24 hours a day on 0800 1111 or via www.childline.org.uk.

Anyone concerned about the safety or wellbeing of a young person can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or via [email protected]. Here adults can also get support about sexual abuse they may have experienced as a child.

To support young people to remove sexual images of themselves online, the Internet Watch Foundation and NSPCC have developed the Report Remove tool. Report Remove is there to help young people under 18 in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and remove them from the internet.

I am sorry you had to go through such a terrible ordeal and suffer its long lasting effects when you were just 13! But I truly admire how you are turning it around and are now a beacon of hope fighting to push forward change so the future generations won’t have to go through this. Truly inspirational!

Like you I am an online safety ambassador with the goal of making the internet a safer place for all children around the world with our “KidZOnlineSafety” blog. Children are our future and we must address the ways in which we can keep them safe online.

Thank you for having the courage to speak up!