Via the link shown below I have provided a copy of a letter which was signed by around 170 leading Technologists, Academics, NGOs and children’s advocates from all parts of the world.
The letter strongly urges the EU to adopt in broadly its current form the Commission’s proposed Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. The Regulation addresses the offline and online manifestations of child sexual abuse.
The main focus of the letter is child sexual abuse which is principally associated with or begins on or in the online world.
We should recall that in the European Union’s 27 Member States at the moment on the internet a great deal of scanning for child sexual abuse material and grooming is only possible because a Temporary Derogation is in place. This expires in August next year.
We saw what happened the last time a few companies stopped scanning (it’s covered in the letter). There was a catastrophic drop in the number of reports of child sexual abuse coming out of the EU and finding their way to law enforcement. This put or kept children in danger. If all companies stop scanning…. Let’s not go there. The Regulation must pass.
PS If you would like to express your support for the Regulation by becoming a signatory to the letter, you know where or how to find me. I won’t provide a link to the sign-on form here. I’ve done that kind of thing before.
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Desiderata 