Facebook joins coalition to combat online child sexual abuse

Internet Matters Team | June 15th, 2020

Internet Matters supports parents and professionals with comprehensive resources and expert guidance to help them navigate the ever-changing world of child internet safety.

Boy sitting on the floor looking at his smartphone

Facebook has joined Google, Microsoft and 15 other tech companies to announce the formation of Project Protect: A plan to combat online child sexual abuse – a renewed commitment and investment expanding the Technology Coalition’s scope and impact to protect kids online and guide its work for the next 15 years.

What is Project Protect?

Project Protect is a significant milestone in the industry’s fight against child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). Driven by tech innovation and best practices from international experts, the project has the necessary financial resources to bring about real change.

Project Protect seeks to prevent and eradicate CSEA from the internet by:

Executing a “Five Pillars” plan to reinforce the cross-industry approach to combating CSEA
Establishing a multi-million dollar Research and Innovation Fund to build technological tools needed to counter CSEA
Committing to publishing an Annual Progress Report on industry efforts to combat CSEA
Creating an annual forum of CSEA Experts to drive collective action, bringing together industry, governments and civil society

What Facebook is doing against child sexual abuse and exploitation

Child exploitation is a problem across the internet, and Facebook’s collective responsibility is to fight this abuse and protect kids online.

At Facebook, across all their platforms, they use sophisticated technology and behavioural signals not only to prevent, detect and remove images and videos that exploit children but also to detect and prevent grooming or potentially inappropriate interactions between a minor and an adult.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook says: “Project Protect brings together the brightest minds from across the tech industry to tackle a grave issue that no one company can solve on its own – child exploitation and abuse.

Facebook is proud to help lead this initiative that we hope will lead to real changes that keep children safe.”

Where can I go to learn more about this project and child sexual abuse and exploitation?

You can learn more about Project Protect by visiting Facebook’s blog and also the Technology Coalition.

For more information about child sexual abuse and exploitation, visit our Online Grooming Hub.

If your child is a victim of online sexual abuse or exploitation, please report this with one of the following organisations below and/or contact the police.

Visit our Online Grooming hub