The CSAM Deterrence Centre addresses the alarming spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the internet. Our mission is to create a safer online environment by making the internet hostile to CSAM and harmful behaviours towards children. We support technology companies to implement, improve and evaluate effective disruption and deterrence interventions – adding to existing strategies to fulfil duties of care.
CSAM refers to any content that depicts the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. It poses a serious threat to the safety and wellbeing of children globally. Law enforcement plays an important role in intervening, however the sheer volume and accessibility of CSAM highlights the urgent need for additional innovative and comprehensive strategies to effectively combat this issue.
The Centre aims to support prevention initiatives throughout the online ecosystem, in a wide range of contexts where people attempt to offend. This includes preventing the dissemination of illegal content, and collaborating with stakeholders on the detection of grooming, sexual extortion and other harms.
We employ a multi-faceted approach focused on prevention, disruption, and education.
Collaboration
The success of our efforts relies on strong collaborations with those who can play a role in preventing online exploitation. This includes technology companies, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, service providers, education and care providers, academics and other key stakeholders.
We work with stakeholders to identify approaches that will be most impactful and achievable. By working together, we can create a united front against CSAM and drive meaningful change. The CSAM Deterrence Centre is leading this effort, leveraging research, technology, and collaboration to safeguard children and make the internet a safer place for everyone.
Design Warning Messages
One of our key strategies is the use of online warning messages. These messages are designed to deter individuals from accessing CSAM by alerting them to the legal and ethical consequences of their actions. They present a key example of safety by design principles, and enable providers to demonstrate regulatory compliance in transparency reports. Research has shown that such warnings are effective and can significantly reduce the likelihood of individuals continuing to seek out illegal content.
Online warning messages are low cost and high impact. We can support you to design warning messages and other disruption methods tailored to your needs. This involves understanding your user experience and deployment context, to creae messages that are clear and impactful, disrupting the harmful behaviour patterns of offenders, and increasing online safety for your users.
By integrating these warning messages into their platforms, technology companies can demonstrate effective disruption and deterrence interventions and fulfil their duty of care, creating safe online environments for all.
Evaluate to Measure Impact to Support Transparency Reporting
The Centre uses the latest research to collaborate with technology providers to design effective warning messages tailored to your platforms. This involves understanding the user experience and deployment context, creating messages that are clear and impactful, disrupting the harmful behaviour patterns of offenders, and increasing online safety for users.
We can support collaborators to evaluate the effectiveness of these messages for regulatory reporting. Through continuous monitoring and feedback, we aim to improve messaging strategies by ensuring they remain effective in deterring access to CSAM and adapting to emerging challenges – supporting our technology partners in regulatory reporting with demonstrable efficacy regarding their disruption and deterrence efforts.
Education and Outreach
The Centre is committed to raising awareness about the dangers of CSAM and the importance of online safety. We can provide evidence-based training and resources to help technology companies equip teams to understand the issue and implement effective countermeasures.
Through education and outreach, we aim to empower companies to take proactive steps in protecting users.
Join our mission to combat CSAM and protect children. Together, we can make a difference.