Page 15 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

CHILD ONLINE SAFETY SAMENA TRENDS

Child Safety Online Takes Center Stage in Sweden

Catalyzing Child Online Safety through Artificial Intelligence

Sweden’s King and Queen host cross-sectorial experts to identify

innovative solutions

Britta Holmberg The Internet has transformed the lives of abuse material online. Twenty years ago,
Deputy Secretary General & many of us at an unprecedented pace and the number was 3,000. In all likelihood, the
Program Director scale. For a growing number of children situation will further deteriorate with the
around the world, the digital world is
expansion of broadband connectivity in the
World Childhood Foundation integrated into their lives in almost every world’s poorest countries where children
possible way. Broadband connectivity brings often constitute 50% of the population.
many benefits to children, including access
to education and entertainment, but it also Even though more material is being flagged
has a dark side as it exposes children to as suspected child sexual abuse than
risks and threats online, including different before, it may simply be a reflection of
forms of violence and exploitation. increased efforts from the tech-companies
to detect and report child sexual abuse
With the rapid expansion of broadband material. However, it may also be a warning
and connectivity, it is even more urgent sign that the technical development to
to address the risks of online violence protect children have not managed to keep
against children as it is scaling up to even up with the harmful use of technology.
more horrifying levels. For example, in Increasingly more sophisticated technology
2018, the US National Center for Missing & and faster internet have not only resulted
Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 18.4 in an alarming increase in the spread of
million reports of suspected child sexual child abuse materials but also in new forms

”The risks for children

online are changing
rapidly, both in scale
and in form. In order to
prevent those risks from
turning into harm, we
need the sharpest minds
to be on our side. On the
side of children.”

Queen Silvia of Sweden
at the AI and child safety Photo credit: World Childhood Foundation USA

online roundtables.

15 NOVEMBER 2019