In the European Union, a law combating sexual violence against children on the internet is being prepared. Privacy advocates caution against draconian measures, Euronews reported.
"Clean up the online space!" chanted demonstrators in Brussels, urging the EU to take swift action to enact the Regulation on combating sexual violence against children, also known as chat control, which involves monitoring text messages and image sharing.
Activists, who themselves were victims of abuse in their youth, demand that the EU take measures against sexual predators targeting children. Patrick Sandford, an activist from Ireland, urges parents to monitor how home computers are used:
"One in five children, one in five of your children, will experience sexual violence before the age of 15 or 16. For many, this will happen in the virtual space. Unfortunately, 60% of online sexual abuse worldwide occurs in Europe."
The chat control law will require major tech platforms to search for and ban materials constituting sexual violence against children. While some EU member states oppose draconian measures, morality advocate Charlina Eryapuro from Finland calls on the EU not to soften chat controls:
"This law can protect children from harm on the internet. However, the online community is constantly growing due to technological advancements and the expansion of digital companies. We don't know what the future holds. All these social networks have emerged relatively recently. We don't know their long-term effects on children. So, this law will protect children not only now but also in the future."
However, the chat control law has faced objections from privacy advocates. Non-governmental organizations across the EU have warned in an open letter that the current version of the law would allow the reading of messages and compromise the privacy of hundreds of millions of Europeans. Researcher Carmela Troncoso from Switzerland expressed concerns that such a measure could lead to abuses:
"This technology is designed not only to detect child pornography but also a wide range of suspicious activities. We know it will be used for other purposes, to detect anything. Once such a mechanism is created and deployed, governments, tech companies, and hackers capable of breaching any system can use the gaps in our communication for surveillance."
EU member states will discuss this issue at the end of September, European Parliament members will debate chat control in the Committee on Fundamental Rights in October, and then the issue of child sexual violence on the internet will be on the agenda of the plenary session of the European Parliament.
Follow Daryo's official Instagram and Twitter pages to keep up to date on world news.
Comments (0)