Page 17 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

CHILD ONLINE SAFETY SAMENA TRENDS

The Arachnid Crawler – developed by the One of the sessions was therefore devoted to the challenges
Canadian Centre for Child Protection. The
webcrawler has the specific task of finding and opportunities of the broadband expansion reaching
and removing online child sexual abuse new markets. The session was introduced by Doreen
material. It operates by using Microsoft’s
Photo DNA technology along with hashes Bogdan-Martin, ITU and Joanna Rubinstein, Childhood
(digital fingerprints) from lists generated USA and co-chair of the Broadband Commission Working
by several organisations. The Arachnid
web crawler scans thousands of URLs per Group on Child Online Safety. They highlighted the need to
second. It scans the images on the URL and prioritize child online safety, especially in anticipation of
pushes what it recognises as child sexual the expansion of the broadband in the developing world
abuse material into Project Arachnid’s
classification system. The content is then where most children live today.
triple-verified by three different analysts
to ensure that the image can be classified Griffeye Brain, developed by Safer Society Several concrete AI tools already exist
as child sexual abuse material. Once this Group, a program that aims to innovate that could help keeping children safe
classification has been made, a notice is how AI is applied to law enforcement work online and make investigations of
sent to the hosting provider, requisitioning processes. The beta version was released suspected online child sexual abuse more
that the material is removed. As the final in 2018. The first outcome of Griffeye efficient. However, these solutions are too
step, the hosting provider makes sure that Brain is a child sexual abuse material fragmented and sometimes overlapping
the material is removed. For material that classifier that scans through previously and, most importantly, do not reach those
has gone through the triple verification, and unseen footage and suggests images who need them the most.
that is publicly available on the Internet, that it believes depicts child sexual abuse
take-down notices have so far seen a 98% content. The AI algorithm automatically One of the sessions was therefore devoted
success rate. Project Arachnid’s aim is to groups and filters material and helps to the challenges and opportunities of
remove content as quickly as possible to investigators prioritize. Considering that the broadband expansion reaching new
prevent revictimisation. one hard drive can contain tens of millions markets. The session was introduced by
of photos, the use of the AI algorithm can Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU and Joanna
A new method to detect potential instances be immensely time-saving. Rubinstein, Childhood USA and co-chair of
of child online grooming for sexual the Broadband Commission Working Group
purposes is currently being developed Technical solutions available - but not for on Child Online Safety. They highlighted
by Microsoft. The method is the result of all the need to prioritize child online safety,
a cross-industry hackathon hosted by The presentations during the Round-table especially in anticipation of the expansion
Microsoft, which will become available in discussion made it clear that the main of the broadband in the developing world
2020. barrier is not the technical development. where most children live today. All the
stakeholders, governments, regulators,
operators, internet service providers, NGOs
and civil society and academia have to join
forces in implementing common strategies
to make the internet safer for children in
order to help prepare future generations
to thrive in the digital space. These
steps include incorporating measures
addressing child online protection in
the national broadband plans, ensuring
that applications and services are age-
Photo credit: World Childhood Foundation USA to improve child online safety.
appropriate and safe per design, and that
technology-driven solutions are deployed

The panel discussion with Priscila Costa
Schreiner Röder from the São Paulo
Cybercrime Working Group, Maria Sheila
Portento, Philippine National Police, Bocar
Ba, SAMENA Telecommunications Council,
and Neil Walsh from UNODC illustrated the

17 NOVEMBER 2019