Two guests join us to discuss the overwhelming number of images of child sexual abuse online. First, we spoke to Lieutenant Veto Mentzell with the Harford County (Md.) Sheriff’s Office. How has technology changed producing and distributing these images? What’s the impact on survivors? Who are these predators in our midst? We discussed the role of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces and how well-intentioned efforts to update legislation can criminalize children’s behavior.

Then, you’ll hear from Emily Cashman Kirstein at Thorn, a nonprofit that builds technology to defend children from abuse. What do we need tech companies to do—or do more of—to protect children? Why are we failing to keep up with the growth of abusive materials online? We talked about the threat posed by end-to-end encryption and what Thorn is doing on the issue of self-generated content.

Topics (Veto Mentzell):

• Who produces and shares abusive imagery? (2:14)
• Technology now is a common part of abuse cases (5:53)
• Self-produced images: the risk for kids (9:58)
• The impact on kids and families—and investigators (14:04)
• What policy makers need to know (22:24)
• The best advice for Children’s Advocacy Centers (31:37)

Topics (Emily Cashman Kirstein):

• An audacious goal: eradicating child abuse from the internet (34:21)
• The prevalence of this material and what’s driving the growth (35:51)
• The role of nonprofits and of policy makers (42:46)
• Holding tech companies accountable (48:45)
• Encryption, digital privacy, and child protection (51:15)
• What else is promising? (55:48)

Links:

New York Times articles “The Internet Is Overrun with Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?,” “How Laws Against Child Sexual Abuse Imagery Can Make It Harder to Detect,” and “Tech Companies Detect a Surge in Online Videos of Child Sexual Abuse”

Harford County Child Advocacy Center

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Maryland ICAC

“Digital Safety” episode of Public Health Matters

The State Chapter is Maryland Children’s Alliance

Thorn’s TED Talk: “How we can eliminate child sexual abuse material from the internet”

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)

Safer

Telegraph article: “Tech companies should pay for child abuse epidemic ‘like oil spills’, ex-Government child safety Czar says”

Safety by Design, Australia

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit nationalch

Support the show

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.