Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) work globally to eliminate child sexual abuse images & videos from the worldwide internet.
Securus became an IWF Member in 2017. Working together and sharing knowledge allows us to improve the support we offer all schools and education establishments, increasing protection for pupils from online harms with Securus monitoring and safeguarding solutions.
IWF analysts work tirelessly to safeguard children from sexual abuse, and we have shared two topics below on “sextortion” and “AI” which seem to be current concerns surrounding the distribution of child sexual abuse images and videos. The Securus library of words and phrases detects typed and non-typed content that could potentially be flagged as sextortion or AI types of incidents in education, capturing hard evidence and alerting DSLs and school staff.
Sexually coerced extortion “Sextortion” is a growing online threat
Sextortion is a type of blackmail where someone tries to use intimate, naked or sexual photos or videos of you to make you do things you don't want to do. Sometimes, these photos or videos are taken without your knowledge, and the person blackmailing you uses them to force you to pay money or do something against your will.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new and growing area of concern
AI technology is fast and accurate – images usually fit the text description very well. Many images can be generated at once – you are only really limited by the speed of your computer. You can then pick out your favourites; edit them; direct the technology to output exactly what you want.
In short, you type in what you want to see in online generators and the software generates the image.
The IWF works with law enforcement, governments, and the tech industry, as well as other child protection groups across the world to make the internet safer for everyone and to stop the distribution of child sexual abuse images.
You can read the latest news and resources from IWF here: https://www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/