Those reports included over 45 million images and videos flagged as child sexual abuse.īy Rich Harris | Source: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

And the group tasked with serving as a federal clearinghouse for the imagery - the go-between for the tech companies and the authorities - was ill equipped for the expanding demands.Ī paper recently published in conjunction with that group, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, described a system at “a breaking point,” with reports of abusive images “exceeding the capabilities of independent clearinghouses and law enforcement to take action.” It suggested that future advancements in machine learning might be the only way to catch up with the criminals.

The Justice Department, given a major role by Congress, neglected even to write mandatory monitoring reports, nor did it appoint a senior executive-level official to lead a crackdown. Law enforcement agencies devoted to the problem were left understaffed and underfunded, even as they were asked to handle far larger caseloads. As with hate speech and terrorist propaganda, many tech companies failed to adequately police sexual abuse imagery on their platforms, or failed to cooperate sufficiently with the authorities when they found it.

They include graphic descriptions of some instances of the abuse.Īn investigation by The New York Times found an insatiable criminal underworld that had exploited the flawed and insufficient efforts to contain it. Articles in this series examine the explosion in online photos and videos of children being sexually abused.

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