The European Commission wants to take a stronger approach to sexual abuse of children in the online environment. An internal document on this has now been published, with a vision of the Commission that shows great confidence in algorithms and seems to take many false positives for granted.
In May, the European Commission proposed a regulation to tackle the sexual abuse of children in the online environment more rigorously. The idea is that child sexual abuse materials – ie photos and videos of abuse, both previously identified and new – and grooming should be combated as much as possible. The background to this is that there is not yet an effective, coordinated approach in Europe in this area and that the fight against it still largely depends on voluntary. Providers and platforms are not yet obliged to take steps and even the voluntary legal framework will expire in the summer of 2024. That is why the Commission is in some hurry with this proposal.