Google, Microsoft and other tech giants pledge to combat online child sexual abuse

Google, Facebook, Microsoft and several other tech giants are working on an initiative aimed at combating online child sexual abuse.

The tech giants are part of the Technology Coalition, which was founded in 2006, and are launching a new initiative called “Project Protect.” The companies note that a lot has changed since they formed the coalition in 2006.

They outlined that child exploitation takes on many forms now with the increase in new services and video streaming, and there are also many more users online now than there were back when the coalition launched.

Although the technological tools for detecting and reporting abuse are sophisticated, the forms of abuse have also become more sophisticated too.

The tech giants will invest in technology that can be used to crack down on child sexual abuse content online. They will also hold a forum with governments and other stakeholders on the matter.

Further, they will fund independent research to better understand trends around child exploitation in order to find ways to prevent it. The alliance says it will also share insights on their findings and monitor their progress.

Essentially, the companies note that this problem can’t be solved on its own, which why they are all working together to crack down on the issue.

Source: CNBC