How we can eliminate child sexual abuse material from the internet | Julie Cordua

Summary

Five years ago, the speaker was approached by federal agents to help identify a young girl featured in widespread child sexual abuse material. The case highlighted the growing epidemic of online abuse, fueled by technological advancements, and the inability of society to address the problem effectively. The speaker's nonprofit, Thorn, is working to change this by developing software to connect data across law enforcement and companies, reducing the time it takes to rescue victims. Thorn aims to create a global response to combat child sexual abuse material, with the goal of protecting children from digital exploitation.

Takeaways

• 😀 Five years ago, the speaker received a life-changing call from federal agents asking for help identifying a young girl featured in child sexual abuse material found online.
• 😀 The abuser of the child was highly technologically sophisticated, posting new content regularly but leaving few clues about her identity or location.
• 😀 The speaker's nonprofit organization, which was only two years old at the time, did not have the technology to assist law enforcement in stopping the abuse.
• 😀 After a year of searching, the child was eventually rescued, but by that time, her abuse had gone viral, spreading globally on the dark web and mainstream platforms.
• 😀 Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has exploded on the internet, with over 45 million images and videos reported in the US alone, nearly double from the previous year.
• 😀 More than 60% of CSAM images feature children under 12 years old, with many including extreme acts of sexual violence.
• 😀 The current fragmented approach to tackling CSAM, with law enforcement and companies working in isolation, is not effective.
• 😀 The speaker's organization, Thorn, is working to create technology that connects data from different sources to help identify and remove CSAM faster and more efficiently.
• 😀 By linking hashed data (unique fingerprints for each file), Thorn is aiming to streamline investigations and prevent CSAM from being uploaded and shared in the first place.
• 😀 Thorn has successfully reduced the time to locate a child victim by 65% through its software, which is now in use across 38 countries and is helping companies like Imgur to prevent the upload of CSAM.
• 😀 The speaker emphasizes the urgency of scaling up efforts, mobilizing law enforcement, and getting companies to invest in technology to fight CSAM, noting that the first generation of children whose abuse went viral are now young adults with severe trauma.

Q & A

What was the main reason the speaker received a call from federal agents five years ago?

The speaker received a call from federal agents because they needed help identifying a young girl who was featured in hundreds of child sexual abuse images found online. These images had been circulating on dark web sites for years.

How did the abuse of the child described in the script spread?

The abuse was broadcast globally on dark web sites and shared through peer-to-peer networks, private chat rooms, and even mainstream websites. Despite efforts to track the abuser, the images and videos continued to spread.

What is the significance of the statistics shared about child sexual abuse material in the US?

In the US alone, more than 45 million images and videos of child sexual abuse material were reported in a single year, a number that nearly doubled from the previous year. More than 60% of these images involved children under 12 and most depicted extreme acts of sexual violence.

Why is the current approach to combat child sexual abuse material ineffective?

The fragmented and disconnected approach to combating child sexual abuse material, where law enforcement works in separate jurisdictions and companies handle individual platforms, is ineffective. This lack of coordination means critical data is not shared, slowing down efforts to stop abuse.

How does Thorn’s technology aim to solve these problems?

Thorn is developing technology to connect disparate data, helping law enforcement, NGOs, and companies work together to identify and eliminate child sexual abuse material from the internet. The goal is to reduce the time it takes to identify victims and stop the spread of abuse.

What is the role of 'hashing' in the fight against child sexual abuse material?

Hashing turns each image or video of abuse into a unique string of numbers, acting as a digital fingerprint. This helps law enforcement and companies identify and track known abusive content without having to reexamine each file.

What issue arises from the current use of hashes in fighting child sexual abuse material?

Currently, hashes are stored in siloed databases across the globe. This means that the data cannot be shared effectively, preventing the identification of unique images and impeding the tracking of victims who need to be rescued.

How has Thorn’s technology made a tangible difference in law enforcement efforts?

Thorn’s technology has significantly reduced the time it takes for law enforcement to identify and rescue victims of abuse. It has been implemented in 38 countries, reducing rescue times by more than 65%.

What role do companies like Imgur play in the effort to stop the spread of abuse material?

Companies like Imgur partner with Thorn to use its system to identify and remove child sexual abuse material from their platforms. Imgur was able to prevent a known piece of abuse material from being uploaded and discovered hundreds more pieces of content from the same user, greatly expanding the reach of the system.

What is the long-term psychological impact on survivors of child sexual abuse material?

Survivors often live with the trauma of knowing that their abuse has been shared globally. Studies show that 80% of survivors have considered suicide, and more than 60% have attempted it. Many survivors also live in constant fear of being recognized from their abuse material.

Why is the speaker optimistic about the future despite the challenges in combating child sexual abuse material?

The speaker remains optimistic because of the potential for technology to transform the fight against child sexual abuse material. With the right will from society, law enforcement, and companies, it is possible to dramatically reduce the spread of abuse material and offer children a safer future.