‘Hiding in plain sight’: Canadian project hunts down child pornography online
Posted May 3, 2023 7:16 am.
Most of us would assume that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) hides in the corners of the dark web, far from easy detection. But it doesn’t.
“It’s hiding in plain sight,” says Jacques Marcoux, Director of Research and Analytics for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P).
Project Arachnid, a part of the C3P, has flagged millions of suspected cases of child pornography online. However, the real fight is getting platforms to do the work of policing their own servers for CSAM, rather than relying on third-parties to flag the material.
“The discourse is overwhelmingly focused on what parents should do to protect their kids, instead of seeking accountability from the companies who are making these incremental design decisions, each day, that facilitate predation, harm, and addiction on their platforms,” says Marcoux.
What laws does Canada have to protect our children online? And what more should online platforms be doing to stem the flow of harmful and abusive content?
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