Praise for IWF Hotline as Government looks to tackle internet grooming
Minister praises work to find and remove images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet, and says new legislation will aim to tackle the issue.
Minister praises work to find and remove images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet, and says new legislation will aim to tackle the issue.
An IWF analyst’s instincts told him he could act quickly to intervene after he received an anonymous tip off.
IWF analysts have seen accelerating numbers of public reports of child sexual abuse, with more people staying and working from home among contributing factors.
The aim is for the new chatbot to “target” users before they actually commit a criminal offence.
Chris Hughes leads a team of analysts whose job is to assess images and videos of suspected child sexual abuse to help get them removed from the internet.
Digital Minister Caroline Dinenage said the welfare of children is central to the Government’s approach on tackling online harms.
Videos and images where children have been manipulated into recording their own abuse now make up nearly half of all the material removed from the internet by IWF analysts.
The IWF worked with the National Cyber Security Centre in the Ghanaian government, and UNICEF Ghana, to get the vital portal up and running.
“Over lockdown, children have been online even more and they are all on devices. It is important they know what is going on, and about the possible dangers.”
Melissa Thompson, who suffered abuse as a child, organised the mammoth gaming session to raise money for the IWF