FBI: FBI Warns of Child Sexual Abuse Material Being Displayed During Zoom Meetings. “The COVID-19 crisis has caused many organizations and schools to conduct virtual meetings/events, some of which are open to the public. Additionally, links to many virtual events are being shared online, resulting in a lack of vetting of approved participants. During the last few months, the FBI has received more than 195 reports of incidents throughout the United States and in other countries in which a Zoom participant was able to broadcast a video depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The FBI considers this activity to be a violent crime, as every time child sexual abuse material is viewed, the depicted child is re-victimized. Furthermore, anyone who inadvertently sees child sexual abuse material depicted during a virtual event is potentially a victim as well.”
child abuse
The Register: Don’t be fooled, experts warn, America’s anti-child-abuse EARN IT Act could burn encryption to the ground
The Register: Don’t be fooled, experts warn, America’s anti-child-abuse EARN IT Act could burn encryption to the ground . “On Thursday, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced legislation with the ostensible purpose of combating child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online – at the apparent cost of encryption.”
New York Times: U.S. to Hold Tech Firms Accountable for Spread of Child Sex Abuse Imagery
New York Times: U.S. to Hold Tech Firms Accountable for Spread of Child Sex Abuse Imagery. “Legislation announced on Thursday aimed at curbing the spread of online child sexual abuse imagery would take the extraordinary step of removing legal protections for tech companies that fail to police the illegal content. A separate, international initiative that was also announced takes a softer approach, getting the industry to voluntarily embrace standards for combating the material.”
The Next Web: This AI needs your help to identify child abusers by their hands
The Next Web: This AI needs your help to identify child abusers by their hands. “The research team has appealed to the public for help with the project. They want anyone over the age of 18 to upload photos of their hands through a new smartphone app. The images will then be added to a database that’s used to develop the hand comparison algorithms. The researchers say they need more than 5,000 images to prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether our hands are truly unique. They promise that everyone who participates will remain anonymous. The images will never shared with external agencies, and will be destroyed at the end of the project.”
New York Times: Tech Companies Detect a Surge in Online Videos of Child Sexual Abuse
New York Times: Tech Companies Detect a Surge in Online Videos of Child Sexual Abuse. “The number of reported photos, videos and other materials related to online child sexual abuse grew by more than 50 percent last year, an indication that many of the world’s biggest technology platforms remain infested with the illegal content.”
ProPublica: We Assembled the Only Nationwide Database of Priests Deemed Credibly Accused of Abuse. Here’s How.
ProPublica: We Assembled the Only Nationwide Database of Priests Deemed Credibly Accused of Abuse. Here’s How. . “ProPublica published an interactive database on Tuesday that lets users search for clergy who have been listed as credibly accused of sexual abuse in reports released by Catholic dioceses and religious orders. It is, as of publication, the only nationwide database of official disclosures. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the religious leaders’ national membership organization, does not publicly release any centralized, countrywide collection of clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexual assault.”
MIT Technology Review: Microsoft has created a tool to find pedophiles in online chats
MIT Technology Review: Microsoft has created a tool to find pedophiles in online chats. “Microsoft has created an automated system to detect sexual predators trying to groom children online. The tool, code-named Project Artemis, is designed to spot patterns of communication in conversations.”
BBC: Facebook removes 11.6 million child abuse posts
BBC: Facebook removes 11.6 million child abuse posts. “Facebook has released the latest figures in its efforts to remove harmful content from its platforms. They reveal 11.6 million pieces of content related to child nudity and child sexual exploitation were taken down between July and September 2019. For the first time, Facebook is also releasing figures for Instagram and including numbers for posts related to suicide and self-harm.”
BuzzFeed News: A Popular YouTuber Mom Who Was Charged With Child Abuse Has Died
BuzzFeed News: A Popular YouTuber Mom Who Was Charged With Child Abuse Has Died. “A woman who operated a popular YouTube channel featuring videos of her children until earlier this year when she was arrested and charged with child abuse died Tuesday, officials said.”
Tubefilter: YouTube Mom Indicted On 30 Counts Of Child Abuse Declared Incompetent To Stand Trial
Tubefilter: YouTube Mom Indicted On 30 Counts Of Child Abuse Declared Incompetent To Stand Trial. “Machelle Hobson, the former proprietor of a popular YouTube children’s channel who was indicted on 30 counts of child molestation, child abuse, unlawful imprisonment, and child neglect in March, has been declared incompetent to stand trial by doctors on behalf of both the state and defense.” I’m not interested in noting legal troubles for any and all YouTube users, but because of the popularity of content featuring children on YouTube, this seemed worth paying attention to.
Social media: Senior police officer calls for boycott over abuse images (BBC News)
BBC News: Social media: Senior police officer calls for boycott over abuse images. “A boycott of social media sites could force firms to take action to safeguard children, a senior police officer says. Chief Constable Simon Bailey said the companies were able to ‘eradicate’ indecent imagery on their platforms.”
The Guardian: Social media firms to be penalised for not removing child abuse
The Guardian: Social media firms to be penalised for not removing child abuse. “New laws proposed to tackle social media companies streaming child abuse, extremism, terrorist attacks and cyberbullying have been welcomed by senior police and children’s charities. Launched on Monday, the Online Harms white paper outlines what the government says are tough new laws for internet companies and the ability to enforce them.”
Chronicle of Social Change: Child Trends Introduces New Tool in Comparable Child Welfare Data
Chronicle of Social Change: Child Trends Introduces New Tool in Comparable Child Welfare Data. “Child Trends has released a new tool that offers browsers a robust collection of data around child maltreatment, foster care, kinship caregivers and adoption for all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The figures are drawn from the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) report, the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources. All the information is pegged to national trendlines for comparison purposes.”
FamilyOFive: YouTube bans ‘pranksters’ after child abuse conviction (The Guardian)
The Guardian: FamilyOFive: YouTube bans ‘pranksters’ after child abuse conviction. “YouTube has banned a family of vloggers from its platform, after the parents were convicted of child neglect in the course of filming their popular ‘prank’ videos. Michael and Heather Martin,who post videos under the name FamilyOFive, were , after viewers raised alarm over their treatment of their children in videos.”
USA Today: YouTube star DaddyOFive and wife get probation for controversial video ‘pranks’ on kids
USA Today: YouTube star DaddyOFive and wife get probation for controversial video ‘pranks’ on kids . “A father and stepmother, who posted controversial prank videos on YouTube, have been sentenced to five years probation for child neglect. Michael and Heather Martin of Maryland faced fierce criticism for profanity-filled videos posted on the YouTube channel ‘DaddyOFive,’ which many said depicted abusive behavior toward their five children.”
