IICSA Investigation Report: The Internet

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (“IICSA”) has now published their report on the growing problem of online related child sexual abuse. In order for IICSA to examine the responses from government and institutions the procedure was separated into two phases. The first phase consisted of requesting data from law enforcement agencies. Phase two focused on the response from industry and government which was dealt with by a series of hearings in May 2019. Both victims and representatives of Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft were among those who gave evidence. 

This investigation focused on the extent of how the internet, including both the open web and the dark web, facilitates child sexual abuse. The abuse that takes place online ranges from online grooming to distribution of indecent images of children and live streaming abuse in exchange for payment.

Online Grooming

Online grooming can take place over numerous internet platforms. It was identified by both West Midlands Police and Kent Police that the three most common platforms used by offenders are Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. The Inquiry’s research also found similar statistics, they identified:  

“Snapchat … Facebook, Instagram … were all repeatedly cited by participants across different elements of the research as spaces where sexual harassment or other forms of
online sexual harm took place.”

During the course of the investigation, IICSA heard from various industries who were seeking to prevent grooming on their online platforms. For example, YouTube now require users to accept invitations to engage in private conversations. Facebook and Kik implemented age verification measures, which require users to be at least 13 years old. This age bracket was used as it had been suggested by child internet safety advisors that 13 was the age that a child is able to “decide for themselves whether or not to be part of an environment where those kinds of advertisements, commercial advertisements, would be present.”  However, victims of online grooming have argued that in reality this measure is not sufficient. Age verification merely requires an individual to enter a date of birth that is over 13 years of age.

Further, the National Crime Agency (NCA) considered not enough was being done by social media platforms to ensure that their users were at least 13 years old. In order to tackle this, Facebook, Google and Microsoft all employed moderators who review content on their pages and take action where there has been a break of standards.

Responses from the government in relation to online grooming includes the introduction of compulsory education in both primary and secondary schools, which teaches children about the importance of staying safe online along with the skills to do so. This level of education is set to be rolled out in schools in September 2020.

Indecent images of children

Although the number of indecent images that have circulated worldwide is unknown, it is thought to be in the many millions. The Inquiry refers to repeat victimisation as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reported that the images taken and put on the web remain online even after the perpetrators are imprisoned. IICSA focused on different methods of detection by law enforcement agencies and industry. Detection of indecent images can be done with the use of technology including machine learning and PhotoDNA, which was developed by Microsoft and used by Facebook, Kik and Google. PhotoDNA creates a unique digital signature of an image which is then compared to other photos to find copies of that same image. Law Enforcement agencies use technology such as CyberTip, which allows the public to report any images found on the internet to authorities such as the NCA.

Live Streaming

Online child abuse also takes the form of live streaming. The NCA has labelled live streaming as “one of the emerging threats.” The increased use of webcam and video-conference technology has subsequently led to an increase in the risk of child sexual abuse by live streaming. Perpetrators are able to participate in live streaming of sexual abuse for payment in the comfort and safety of their own home. Preventing live streaming is difficult for law enforcement agencies due to the real-time nature of live streaming along with end-to-end encryption that is used, making it difficult to be accessed by industry or law enforcement agencies. IICSA found that the live streaming of child sexual abuse is one of the most harmful forms and that internet companies must do more to demonstrate their understanding and development of sufficient resources to detect this type of abuse.

Conclusions

Although there have been improvements in the responses of industries, government and law enforcement agencies in relation to online child sexual abuse, there have also been advances in technology that make it harder to detect online activities. Development of technology to combat this is therefore essential, along with age verification for users and education at primary and secondary school level.

IICSA recommends the following:

1. The government should require industries to pre-screen images before they are uploaded to the internet.
2. The government should put pressure on the WeProtect Global Alliance to remove images, both at home and internationally and implement legislation to prevent access to images.
3. The government should introduce legislation that requires better age verification techniques.
4. The government should publish an interim code of practice in respect of child abuse and exploitation as proposed by the Online Harms White Paper.

The government and industry referred to within the IICSA’s recommendation are to publish their response to each of their recommendations within the next six months.

Fore more information, please contact Shannon Boyce.