Statement: The Canadian Centre for Child Protection supports the new, proposed EU legislation to combat online child sexual exploitation


For Immediate Release

Winnipeg, Canada — The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) supports the European Commission’s new legislation on preventing and combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The proposal has the potential to not only make a difference for millions of children in the EU, but creates a critical opportunity to build a safer internet for children globally.

In 2020, 86 per cent of all known child sexual abuse material discovered online by the IWF was hosted in Europe. 1 Effective legislation, like that proposed in the EU, could go a long way to tackling this global epidemic. The regulation’s call for mandatory detection, reporting and removal of child sexual abuse online, and strong prevention measures, will help to protect not only European children, but also survivors around the world whose abuse material is shared within EU countries.

“Children’s best interests should always be at the forefront of legislation. We applaud the EU for championing regulation that holds tech accountable for content on their platforms, along with supporting the development and deployment of solutions to help reduce threats to children’s safety, well‑being, and rights online,” says Lianna McDonald, Executive Director of C3P.

C3P also strongly supports the establishment of a European Centre (EU Centre), which will further strengthen the outcomes of the proposed legislation. As a centralized entity, the EU centre has the potential to not only implement regulations but work within the global child protection ecosystem to collaboratively develop evidence‑based best practices and effective tools to stop the spread of CSAM and support survivors.

For the full proposed legislation, visit https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/whats-new/campaigns/campaign-legislation-prevent-and-combat-child-sexual-abuse_en

  1. 1 IWF, Call for lawmakers to act quickly as new data shows child sexual abuse reports are soaring in wake of pandemic, 2022 ↩
Media relations contact:
1 (204) 560-0723
communications@protectchildren.ca

-30-

About the Canadian Centre for Child Protection: The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) is a national charity dedicated to the personal safety of all children. The organization’s goal is to reduce the sexual abuse and exploitation of children through programs, services, and resources for Canadian families, educators, child‑serving organizations, law enforcement, and other parties. C3P also operates Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national tipline to report child sexual abuse and exploitation on the internet, and Project Arachnid, a web platform designed to detect known images of CSAM on the clear and dark web and issue removal notices to industry.

Support our work. Donate today.

Be a part of something big. As a registered charitable organization, we rely on donations to help us offer our programs and services to the public. You can support us in helping families and protecting children.

Donate Now