Content warning: child abuse.
It’s absolutely horrific -- photos and videos of children being raped, some as young as infants, are being shared on social media. This is one of those issues that is too upsetting to even think about -- but we have a plan to help stop it.
Facebook Messenger is wildly popular among child predators and it's about to be totally encrypted, making it extremely easy for child rapists to share their awful content totally under the radar!
Facebook needs to fix this problem. And it's technically feasible, but it’s going to take massive pressure on Facebook to make it happen.
Let’s urgently tell Facebook: protect children!
Experts say there's even a simple workaround: encrypt text messages only, and all images and videos should still be scanned for known images of child rape. But so far Facebook isn't doing anything! They're developing its encryption plan right now, and raising the alarm can influence policy before Facebook coders start building the encryption tech.
They already know this is a huge problem. Facebook accounts for 90% of the content reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This means that once Facebook encrypts Messenger, the amount of reported content will plummet -- making it much harder for authorities to protect those children.
Facebook will give every reason to not do this. Privacy is their main argument. But when it comes to images and video -- protecting children from rape and sexual abuse doesn’t need to interfere with any private written communication and the majority of images and video. And the status quo, where millions of kids are victimized, simply cannot stand.
A Facebook spokesperson recently said Facebook is looking for input on how to build the right encryption service. So let’s take him up on it! Add your name, and once we get one hundred thousand people, SumOfUs staff will deliver our call directly to Facebook executives.
Let’s urgently tell Facebook: protect children!
Time and again we have come together to stand up to the biggest corporations in the world. Let’s do it again, now, for the millions of kids who desperately need us to be their voice.
More information
Broken Promises: Sexual Exploitation of Children on Facebook
Tech Transparency Project. 3 March 2020.
Tech Transparency Project. 3 March 2020.
The Internet is Overrun With Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?
New York Times. 29 September 2019.
New York Times. 29 September 2019.
