Facebook ramps up fight against child abuse content

Facebook ramps up fight against child abuse content

Two new tools will warn users about the risks of searching for and sharing content that exploits children, including the potential legal consequences of doing so



Facebook has announced a pair of new tools to help combat child abuse and exploitation content on its platform and apps. While one tool aims to curb the potentially malicious sharing of exploitative content, the other deals with its non-malicious sharing.


The former is a pop-up that will be shown to users who search on Facebook’s apps for terms that are typically associated with child exploitation. “The pop-up offers ways to get help from offender diversion organizations and shares information about the consequences of viewing illegal content,” wrote Antigone Davis, the Global Head of Safety at Facebook, in a blog ushering in the new tools.


Meanwhile, the second tool is a safety alert that will appear to people who have shared viral, meme child exploitative content. The alert will inform the user what harm sharing such content could lead to and will also add a warning about the legal ramifications of sharing such materials.


“We share this safety alert in addition to removing the content, banking it, and reporting it to NCMEC. Accounts that promote this content will be removed. We are using insights from this safety alert to help us identify behavioral signals of those who might be at risk of sharing this material, so we can also educate them on why it is harmful and encourage them not to share it on any surface — public or private,” Davis added.


“While criminals exploit social media and social networks to commit crimes involving child sexual abuse material, sex trafficking of a minor, and ..

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