THE worst form of violence against children online is sexual exploitation. But even more brutal is the sharing of this malicious content, deliberately or not.
Facebook, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography (IACACP), Child Rights Network, and Stairway Foundation recently launched the #ReportItDontShareIt campaign to combat unintended child exploitation online. The public safety campaign was launched in 10 countries including the Philippines.
The campaign was launched in light of the recent findings from a research conducted by Facebook on its CyberTips with US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). This was done to better understand why people may share CSAM on Facebook and its family of apps. The study evaluated 150 accounts that were reported to NCMEC for uploading CSAM in July and August of 2020 and January 2021.
Results have shown that more than 75 percent of these materials did not exhibit malicious intent to harm a child, but appeared to be shared for other reasons, such as outrage or poor humor. Data also showed that more than 90 percent of CSAM were re-shares of previously reported content. While this data indicates that the number of pieces of content does not equal the number of victims, the same content, potentially slightly altered, is being shared repeatedly.
“While this data indicates that the number of pieces of content does not equal the number of victims, one victim is one too many. Preventing and eradicating online child sexual exploitation and abuse requires a cross-industry approach, and Facebook is committed to doing our part to protect children on and off our apps. We are taking a research-informed approach to develop effective solutions that disrupt the sharing of child exploitation material,” Malina Enlund, Facebook Safety Policy Manager, APAC said.
“By alerting child abuse images or videos to Facebook and law enforcement agencies such as the IACAT, it gives us evidence to take action against offenders and provide support for the victims,” Yvette Coronel, Deputy Executive Director for Legal of the IACAT Secretariat said.
“We will work hand-in-hand with Facebook and its other safety partners to reduce the sharing of CSAM online and help bring to justice those who are responsible. We will keep a vigilant eye to ensure that children are given proper protection from sexual exploitation and abuse—be it online or offline,” Assistant Secretary Glenda Relova of Department of Social Welfare and Development and IACACP commented.
Aside from government stakeholders, non-government organization partners also call for the public’s help to take part in the fight against sharing of CSAM.
The Stairway Foundation upholds the belief that it is crucial that to raise the understanding and appreciate the wisdom of not re-sharing CSAM content even if it is to express anger or condemnation as it only causes more harm than help to the victimized children.
“Many people might do this out of concern, but there is a more appropriate way to help. At Stairway Foundation, we will always advocate and help create a safe environment for children, wherein their rights are equally respected and protected. Together with Facebook, we seek to strengthen this commitment more than ever through this campaign,” Ace Diloy, Senior Advocacy Officer at Stairway Foundation explained.
For Rom Dongeto, Executive Director of Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), the current convenor of the Child Rights Network said that children should have special protection and opportunities given by the law that safeguards their human rights.
“The Child Rights Network will critically monitor the implementation of these protective laws and policies for children—and together with Facebook, we will implement programs and launch appropriate action to end child abuse and enable children to grow in a safer community,” Dongeto declared.
Apart from this campaign, Facebook continues to work on other initiatives against child exploitation online—from educating users through product and other public safety campaigns, to working with different partners and law enforcement agencies to raise awareness on reporting mechanisms both on and off its platform.
