#WeProtect Children Online Global Summit: Prime Minister's speech
The PM spoke about new measures to eradicate online child abuse including blocking search results, identifying images and law enforcement.
Thank you very much Ernie and thank you for all the work that you바카라 사이트™ve done over so many years to keep children safe. You바카라 사이트™re absolutely right; I approach this issue as a politician, as a prime minister, but I also approach it as a dad. I바카라 사이트™ve got a 10 year old, an 8 year old and a 4 year old, and I want them to grow up with safe streets, but I want them to grow up with a safe internet, too. And that is what today is all about.
Global summit
And frankly, a global gathering like this is long overdue. We have international summits to stamp out drug dealing, to beat modern day slavery, and this is another major international crime of our age. The online exploitation of children is happening on an almost industrial scale. There are networks spanning the world, children abused to order. One criminal gang in the Philippines was arranging the sexual abuse of children, filming it, and then live바카라 사이트‘streaming it to paying customers across the world, making thousands of pounds out of these disgusting crimes.
Find our more about the #WeProtect Children Online Summit and
Now, that gang was cracked. The trail started when a police officer here in the UK searched a sex offender바카라 사이트™s computer and found some footage. From there, we launched a global investigation named Operation Endeavour involving our own national crime agency, US immigration and customs enforcement, the Australian federal police, and the Philippines바카라 사이트™ national police force. That operation arrested 29 people worldwide and most important of all, 15 children in the Philippines, as young as 6 years old, were rescued from what was a living nightmare.
This episode shows just how dark, how devious, and how widespread this crime is. But it also shows what we can achieve if we act together. This is a global crime, so it needs global action. We need to throw the net so wide that there is nowhere for these paedophiles to hide. And that is why this summit is I think such an important moment. More than 50 countries, 26 leading technology companies, 10 Non 바카라 사이트al Organisations (NGOs), all coming together to agree an unprecedented package of measures.
Landmark agreement against online child abuse
This landmark agreement we바카라 사이트™re signing amounts to nothing less than a global war against online child abuse. And this is a war we can only win if we fight it together. And we바카라 사이트™re fighting on 3 main fronts. First, blocking search results that lead to child abuse. Second, identifying the illegal images and taking them down. And third chasing down the perpetrators and enforcing the law. Today I want to set out the great progress that we바카라 사이트™ve made and will continue to make on each front.
Blocking search results
First, blocking search results. Until recently, it was incredibly easy for people to search the internet for child abuse and get results. And even sometimes have their search terms automatically completed for them. It was appalling. And yet, when we talked about changing it, a lot of people said, 바카라 사이트˜Can바카라 사이트™t be done. You can바카라 사이트™t police the internet. You can바카라 사이트™t infringe internet freedoms in any way.바카라 사이트™ But we said you can바카라 사이트™t have the freedom to search for vile material trumping a child바카라 사이트™s freedom to have an innocent childhood. So I made very clear the industry would have to find a way to block these search results and if they didn바카라 사이트™t then we would look at legislation.
And I바카라 사이트™m glad to say it hasn바카라 사이트™t come to that. In fact, internet companies have gone above and beyond what we asked of them. 95% of online searches are processed by Google and Microsoft, and these companies have led the way. They stopped the autocomplete technology from finishing the search terms of those looking for child abuse. They then came up with new algorithms to block illegal images and videos. And Google now apply this to searches made in 40 different languages, so automatically checking against millions of search terms every single day.
Microsoft are increasing the size of their blacklist to 10바카라 사이트™s of 1,000바카라 사이트™s of terms, none of which will return any child abuse results at all. When people do search for this, they바카라 사이트™re confronted with pages warning them off, telling them they바카라 사이트™re breaking the law. And because it바카라 사이트™s getting harder to look for this material, Google have seen a fivefold reduction in these searches over the last year. So I think these are big steps forward. They바카라 사이트™re proving that the internet doesn바카라 사이트™t have to be a place that is beyond the pale or beyond the law. And I want to thank the internet companies for making this happen.
Identifying illegal images
Now the second front we바카라 사이트™re fighting on is identifying the illegal images so we can take them down. You need organisations people can report these images to. You need databases to help them tagging and sharing information and you need to be proactive in actually rooting these images out. Here in the UK, we바카라 사이트™ve made real progress on all fronts. We바카라 사이트™ve got an excellent reporting organisation in the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which has doubled the number of images that it바카라 사이트™s taken down in the past 12 months from 13,000 images in 2013 to 27,000 this year.
Thanks to funding from internet companies, the IWF, the Internet Watch Foundation, is now not just taking reports of child abuse images, but proactively getting out there and looking for them. We바카라 사이트™ve got a new, single national database of images where police forces can share this information and thanks to Microsoft바카라 사이트™s photo DNA technology, we바카라 사이트™re now able to take down the unique digital fingerprint of each picture and use that information to search for and delete those images wherever they are. Like I say, real progress. But the landmark agreement today puts rocket boosters under it, worldwide. Forty바카라 사이트‘one countries have agreed that hotlines like the one run by Internet Watch Foundation are essential, which means millions more people will be able to report any images that they stumble across.
And when it comes to storing that information, 41 nations have agreed that they will set up national databases of their own or contribute to an international system such as the one run by Interpol. Just think what this means: we바카라 사이트™re going to have a global database of illegal images allowing us to join up the dots across borders. We바카라 사이트™re going to be able to identify and take down many more images and that will totally accelerate our fight against this appalling and evil trade.
And there is more. As well as the digital fingerprinting of photos, Google confirmed today that they바카라 사이트™re introducing video hashing technology, with Yahoo piloting this immediately. So just as we can identify these sickening photos, so we바카라 사이트™ll be able to do the same for videos. And with that information we can scour the internet for all this material and have it taken down forever. Information truly is power.
And when it comes to taking all this known child abuse material off the internet, there is another great breakthrough in this agreement. Three major companies, Microsoft, Google and Mozilla, have agreed to work together to look at how they can block these images at the browser level. This means that Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox would have built바카라 사이트‘in restrictions to block access to known child abuse material. And like so much else we바카라 사이트™re agreeing today, this would be a game바카라 사이트‘changer.
Law enforcement
Now the third and crucial front we바카라 사이트™re fighting on is law enforcement. When it comes to the exploitation of children online, indeed any crime online, there has sometimes been a sense that these aren바카라 사이트™t like real바카라 사이트‘life crimes. But that is completely wrong. What is illegal offline is illegal online. And every single one of these images that people look at, every single one of these images is a crime scene. That바카라 사이트™s why we바카라 사이트™ve got to enforce the laws across every medium. Whether it바카라 사이트™s peer바카라 사이트‘to바카라 사이트‘peer networks, the so바카라 사이트‘called 바카라 사이트˜dark net바카라 사이트™, or the open internet.
Here in the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) does brilliant work to pursue and destroy paedophile networks. Operation Notarise continues to be a success with over 700 people arrested so far. But this success, frankly, it also demonstrates just how great the challenge is. So I can announce today we바카라 사이트™re committing an additional £10 million next year to create further specialist teams in our National Crime Agency. And these teams will focus on the worst offenders sharing this horrific material.
New joint National Crime Agency and GCHQ team
When it comes to the so바카라 사이트‘called 바카라 사이트˜dark net바카라 사이트™, the National Security Council that I chair has already made this a security priority and I can announce today that we바카라 사이트™ve created a new joint team between the National Crime Agency and 바카라 사이트 Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), using all the techniques and expertise we use to track down terrorists, using all those techniques, to track down paedophiles as well. This builds on some excellent joint work that바카라 사이트™s already been done.
In one investigation, GCHQ and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), now part of NCA, became aware of an individual in the UK who was sharing child abuse images. He ran chat services in the Far East and in Eastern Europe. He was offering advice to other paedophiles on how to hide their behaviour. And he was doing it all under the cloak on online anonymity. Analysis by GCHQ and CEOP successfully led to his identification and arrest and he was sent to prison for his crimes.
And on the open internet, we바카라 사이트™re being just as robust. We바카라 사이트™re legislating to criminalise the possession of sickening so바카라 사이트‘called 바카라 사이트˜paedophile training manuals바카라 사이트™. These are circulated in criminal networks. They instruct paedophiles on how to conduct their crimes, and with this government, simply owning one of these manuals will be a crime. We바카라 사이트™re also boosting the powers that organisations like the National Crime Agency have to locate paedophiles. This will ensure that whether they바카라 사이트™re accessing child abuse images on their phone or on their computer, the NCA is able to pinpoint, find and arrest them.
Changing the law
And today I can announce we바카라 사이트™re taking another, important step. We바카라 사이트™ve seen an increasing and alarming phenomenon of paedophiles contacting children online over the internet or on their mobile phone. And there can be no grey areas here. If you ask a child to take their clothes off and send you a picture, you are as guilty as if you did that in person. So we바카라 사이트™re going to change the law. Just as it is illegal to produce and possess images of child abuse, now we바카라 사이트™re making it illegal for an adult to send a sexual communication to a child. This law will make it clear this is a crime and you will be arrested and prosecuted if you take part in it.
Global law enforcement
And here today, by signing this agreement, we바카라 사이트™re seeing big changes in law enforcement on the global level too. A range of countries have committed to create dedicated law enforcement response to child abuse images. From Europe to America to Asia to Africa, the same message is going out: there is nowhere to hide. Child exploitation online is a real crime, for which there is real punishment.
Child protection fund
Now of course, there are real victims too. Three바카라 사이트‘quarters of them are thought to be under 10 years old. And their lives are absolutely shattered by these appalling crimes. That바카라 사이트™s why an important part of this global agreement is a commitment to identify and protect more victims. A new global child protection fund will play a vital role in this work and I want to thank UNICEF for leading its development.
But of course, action always speaks louder than words, so I can confirm today that the UK will be the first and the most major donor to the fund with a pledge of £50 million over the next 5 years. This is money that will help put those lives back together again and I바카라 사이트™m proud that Britain is pledging it and once again leading the way. So I want you to 바카라 사이트“ thank you.
So I want you to leave this summit later today proud about what has been achieved. Together we바카라 사이트™ve said, 바카라 사이트˜The internet is not like some weather system that is beyond human control. It is in our own hands to make it safer and to protect children around the world.바카라 사이트™ Because that바카라 사이트™s what we must remember at events like this. In our meetings, in our groups, in our discussions. We must remember there are children out there, vulnerable children, who are counting on us to get this right. Every single child is precious. Every child deserves a childhood. To have that window of innocence and to be protected from harm.
So for their sake, as long as I바카라 사이트™m Prime Minister, I will make sure the United Kingdom is at the forefront of this fight. Together we must pledge to see this through, to clean up the internet, to keep those children safe. So thank you for coming to London. Thank you for all the work you바카라 사이트™ve done so far. I바카라 사이트™m absolutely convinced if we stick together we can continue this work. Together we can beat this appalling scourge. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Question
Thank you very much. Good morning. Right honourable Prime Minister first of all I would like to congratulate you for taking a lead and such a powerful strength that you are pushing behind it is indeed very 바카라 사이트“ you need to be congratulated for that. And I wish to extend my support in your initiative.
Prime Minister
Thank you.
Question
Protecting our children on line from exploitation on internet indeed is something that we want to all work on and Pakistan extends its support in your initiative. And you will find us all there in cooperating and collaborating and making it a really successful initiative from our side.
We are a population of 180 million and our youth are less than 바카라 사이트“ are about 60% who are age 바카라 사이트“ who are under 25. And about 80 million children waiting for our support on this issue. It is indeed welcoming to find government and security agencies, NGOs and particularly the technology companies coming forward and taking a proactive initiative on that. Supporting the cause is not just, for me as a Foreign Minister, but also as a mother of 3 is very important.
I wish to highlight here that whilst we are taking a multi바카라 사이트‘stakeholder approach, there are technology ministries and their respective regulators who also play a vital role in regulating content online. But I do find this aspect missing from our conversations and meetings here. So is there a proposal to consider the technology ministries and their respective regulators to be brought into the fold? And secondly is there a consideration to remove the images altogether from the internet, rather than just blocking the images? Because when you block the images in 1 place it remains visible on another.
Prime Minister
Yes. Thank you. Well thank you very much for your words and thank you for your participation and everything Pakistan is doing. And I know that you바카라 사이트™re taking some specific steps in terms of law and practice which is very worthwhile. On your 2 questions, first of all, how do we make sure we involve technology ministries and regulators as well as law enforcement agencies? I think this is absolutely vital. We only made progress in Britain when we stopped just thinking of this as a sort of interior ministry legal approach. We only really made progress when we involve technology ministries, when we involve the companies themselves, when we got everyone round the table and said, 바카라 사이트˜Look, we바카라 사이트™ve all got the same goal here. How do we protect children? How do we get rid of these images? How do we stop child abuse online? Obviously, we don바카라 사이트™t want to reach immediately for big legislative solutions. Tell us what is possible technically.바카라 사이트™ And it was that I think that led to the breakthrough of the internet companies saying, 바카라 사이트˜Look, I see what you want now. You want to stop the use of disgusting search terms returning a result. We바카라 사이트™ll help you do that.바카라 사이트™ Because if you have the technology companies working with you, you can actually protect many more people by taking that action without having the sort of blunderbuss of legislation. So I think it바카라 사이트™s absolutely vital. In every country you need to involve regulators, internet companies and all of that.
Your second question, how do we remove the images? Well my understanding and this is very difficult technical stuff. Where we바카라 사이트™ve got to now in the UK but potentially internationally, is our Internet Watch Foundation is now no longer just receiving images from people who are concerned. They are actually going out and looking for them and because we have the cooperation of the technology companies and the internet companies, we are now physically taking those pictures down. And what I said in my speech about these unique digital fingerprints of each photograph and each video it means that once you take it down it goes from everywhere rather than having to take down every image individually. So again, it comes to this thing of politicians, regulators, internet companies working together to deliver the greatest possible impact for our children.
Question
As a parent of young children do you think that the internet is the biggest threat to their safety? And what steps do you take at home to protect children? And isn바카라 사이트™t there a limit to what the government can do? Shouldn바카라 사이트™t parents do more?
Prime Minister
Look, I think children growing up in our world today, there are lots of threats they face and the difficulty of being a parent today is the threats are evolving. You know, I바카라 사이트™m only 48 so I don바카라 사이트™t want to sound too much like a fuddy duddy but obviously when I grew up the question was, you know, 바카라 사이트˜Could you help Dad to work the Betamax video recorder?바카라 사이트™ And after a while aged 10 or something you mastered that art. Now you바카라 사이트™ve got tablets, iPads, iPhones, DSs. You바카라 사이트™ve got so many different devices in the house and so you바카라 사이트™ve got a whole set of new things you have to do to try and make sure our children are safe.
What we바카라 사이트™ve done, like many families, is try to apply these new filters that are available, which, you know, they are working. This 바카라 사이트“ the last time we had one of these conferences we were addressing this whole issue of how to have controls that automatically switched on that you had to disable. That is now happening so that is making a big difference. But in the end there is no substitute. You know the government must play its part. We바카라 사이트™ve got to help parents do what they want to do but at the end of the day, parents and children have to talk to each other about internet use and staying safe online.
But that is difficult for parents because we바카라 사이트™re still learning a lot about the internet ourselves. And so I think there is a huge role for schools and there are some excellent organisations here today that are helping explain in school about how to stay safe. And that바카라 사이트™s information that needs to be given to parents as well as to children. So we바카라 사이트™re all finding our way. The government is trying to help. I would argue that in the last few years we바카라 사이트™ve made some really big leaps forward in helping parents to keep their children safe online but there바카라 사이트™s certainly more work to be done.
More points or questions?
Question
Could I first of all thank you for your personal support over the last 18 months for my organisation which has made a huge difference? As you바카라 사이트™ve said the contribution made by industry has been crucial in moving us forward on all of this and you바카라 사이트™ve described how we have moved forward. A very simple question for you, would you support the idea of another conference like this in say 18 months in order for us to be held to account for the pledges that we make here today?
Prime Minister
Yes I would. Look, there are lots of international conferences that take place in the world and sometimes you feel that there바카라 사이트™s an international conference for the sake of having an international conference. I think this is not the case because I think what we바카라 사이트™ve seen here is we바카라 사이트™ve got a new crime as it were, or relatively new crime, exploiting children online which has grown in its scale and complexity. And what I think we바카라 사이트™ve demonstrated here is that if governments and industry work together there바카라 사이트™s a massive amount you can do to block it, stop it and set it back. And I think that바카라 사이트™s only happened because of getting countries and governments and internet companies together so it makes very good sense to have subsequent conferences to check up on the progress we바카라 사이트™ve made. But also to recognise that everything we do will be followed by a response by the perpetrators who will find new parts of the internet to exploit.
So I think the purpose of another conference and as I understand it the United Arab Emirates are keen to host a conference, and I바카라 사이트™m very grateful to them for that. The purpose of the conference, we need to check up on action, accountability but also to work out what more technological sophistication we need to beat paedophiles at their horrendous efforts. And that바카라 사이트™s where I think involving organisations like 바카라 사이트 Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) I think is going to be absolutely key to the sophistication.
Question
We have seen reports in the States of senior British politicians, shall we say conflating the issue of the sharing of child safety 바카라 사이트“ child sexual abuse images with the exchanges of terrorists on social media sites. Could you reassure us that the work of this summit and beyond will not stray into this very different area of terrorist communications? Or for that matter, legal but potentially harmful content such as adult pornography?
Prime Minister
Well first of all what I바카라 사이트™d say is, look, let바카라 사이트™s stand back a bit and think what are we trying to achieve here? We바카라 사이트™re trying to make sure that when something is a crime it is prosecuted and convicted wherever it takes place. And my view is that that should happen whether it바카라 사이트™s online or offline so we should try and apply the same rules across whether you바카라 사이트™re visiting a shop in the high street or whether you바카라 사이트™re visiting a store on the internet. That바카라 사이트™s the principle and that is where I think we바카라 사이트™ve made some huge steps forward. So this is not about changing the rules on, you know, adult pornography. That바카라 사이트™s not what we바카라 사이트™re discussing today. I feel that it바카라 사이트™s very important. In Britain we have rules about how you can buy pornography in a shop and I think we should try and make sure that you apply those rules when you try and buy pornography online. You have the same rules. So you protect young people. So that바카라 사이트™s the principle we바카라 사이트™re trying to apply.
Now I think there is a big challenge of tackling child abuse online which we바카라 사이트™re talking about today. There is also a big challenge of tackling terrorism online. Some of the same techniques will be necessary. They will have to involve working together, internet companies, governments, law enforcement agencies. But they are different subjects. But sometimes the same techniques will apply. Just as the internet companies have said they will not now return search items for disgusting child abuse terms so I think there is a role for internet companies to try and work out when people are obviously plotting terrorism online of making sure that is blocked and having 바카라 사이트“ feeling a social responsibility to report.
If someone is online or offline, if someone is sitting in your pub plotting a bomb attack I think, you know, the publican would feel some moral obligation I would hope to tell someone to prevent the loss of life. And that 바카라 사이트“ I know it바카라 사이트™s more complicated, running an online chat room than running a pub, but there바카라 사이트™s the principle we should apply 바카라 사이트“ try and apply principles of common sense and decency and moral responsibility to the internet as we do to real life.
So there are some similarities, but to be clear, today we바카라 사이트™re here talking about child abuse online. There바카라 사이트™s separate work we바카라 사이트™re doing with internet companies on terrorism and combating extremism, some of the same techniques will apply, but they are 2 different conversations, if that gives you any reassurance.
Question
I want to start by thanking you for your leadership in this area, and also earlier in the year on child marriage and female genital mutilation and cutting; a specific question to the legislation which we learned about overnight on the solicitation of images from children and a question I have, in part because I have a teenage daughter 바카라 사이트“
Prime Minister
Right.
Question
What are we doing when children lie about their age and, from them, who say they are adult, images are solicited, what does the legislation say about that? Thank you.
Prime Minister
Well, the legislation we haven바카라 사이트™t passed yet 바카라 사이트“ what we바카라 사이트™ve announced today is the intention to legislate, but the intention is simple, which is trying to make sure the law stays up to date with the abuses that are taking place. So the abuse that바카라 사이트™s taking place at the moment, and we read a lot about it, and there바카라 사이트™s clearly a lot of it happening, which is adults online persuading children to take off their clothes and send pictures, and we바카라 사이트™ve come to the conclusion that it바카라 사이트™s necessary to make that an offence, because otherwise people might be able to slip through the net 바카라 사이트“ although there are other crimes they바카라 사이트™d be committing when they do that online, it seems to me a new offence is necessary.
How do we do more to try and stop people lying about their age? Well, there바카라 사이트™s a very good exhibition I바카라 사이트™ve just been shown outside, which is 바카라 사이트“ there is actually some technological solutions we can apply online, for when you바카라 사이트™ve got, say a 50 year old man pretending to be a 14 year old boy, of trying to have a piece of technology that can identify that, either by matching the IP address or the way that they are addressing a particular issue to warn the child in question.
So I suspect, as I바카라 사이트™ve been saying before, what we need here, if we stand back again and think right what are we trying to achieve to keep people safe, in the end it바카라 사이트™s going to be, the law can바카라 사이트™t solve everything, it바카라 사이트™s going to be a combination of legal changes where necessary, technological advance where possible, and everywhere a change in culture, and this is where whether we바카라 사이트™re acting as parents or politicians or NGOs or organisations, we need a culture change about what is unacceptable behaviour, and that바카라 사이트™s a very important part of getting this right. Last question.
Question
Yes, in some countries, in remote areas I mean, there is no access to the internet, but there is in increase in sexual abuses. Is this a part of our job as well? That바카라 사이트™s my question.
Prime Minister
Yes. Very good point. Because today we바카라 사이트™re focusing on online child abuse, this doesn바카라 사이트™t mean we should forget about the child abuse that바카라 사이트™s taking place in communities right across the world that is far removed from the internet. So that work needs to continue, international cooperation needs to continue.
I think why this summit is so important is that the internet has enabled child abuse to take place on the other side of the world, sometimes in countries where, for whatever reason, there바카라 사이트™s a less developed criminal justice and law enforcement, to take place in that country, and then for those criminals to use the internet to make some sick, appalling but regrettably large financial return on what they바카라 사이트™re doing.
And so 1 of the reasons why this conference is necessary is the internet has just enabled this sick activity to become an international trade, rather than something that just happens within nation states.
We should continue to go after both, but I fear if we didn바카라 사이트™t do the things we바카라 사이트™re doing here, if we didn바카라 사이트™t have more cooperation between law enforcement, more work by internet companies, more use, frankly, of some of the very sophisticated intelligence and communications agencies that we have like GCHQ, if we didn바카라 사이트™t do that, what we바카라 사이트™d see is a growth of this crime area driven by the fact that the internet makes it possible for a crime to take place in 1 country, for it to be viewed in another country and for payment to be transferred between the 2. That new development, or relatively new development, has made this all the more urgent, which is why we바카라 사이트™re discussing this today.
Can I thank everyone again for coming, for the very good work that바카라 사이트™s been done, Believe me, after 4 and a half years of being Prime Minister I바카라 사이트™ve been to lots of summits, lots of conferences, lots of action plans, but I think here, when you look at where we were a year ago or 2 years ago on what people could search for online that바카라 사이트™s no longer possible, about how many pictures were available on the internet that have been taken down, and now we start to look at, actually at the browser level, stopping 바카라 사이트“ making it impossible for people to find these images through the browsers that are used on the internet. These, I think, on anyone바카라 사이트™s book are really big breakthroughs.
The truth is though, while you바카라 사이트™ve got the dark net that we have to further police, investigate and prosecute people on, and while you바카라 사이트™ve got some countries that aren바카라 사이트™t signed up to these rules, we바카라 사이트™ll never fully crack it, so those are the next 2 things we바카라 사이트™ve got to really get to grips with, and to encourage every single country in the world to take the steps that all of you have signed up to today.
So thank you very much for coming, I think it바카라 사이트™s been a really great summit and conference, huge progress has been made, and that바카라 사이트™s because of the hard work of people here in the United Kingdom, and right across the world, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart; what you바카라 사이트™re doing will keep many more children safe, will stop so many victims of this sick trade of being made in the first place, and that is, I think, a very good 2 days work. Thank you very much.