[ad_1]
There is “nothing stopping” child sexual abuse images from spreading on WhatsApp, a child safety organisation has warned.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which helps detect and remove child abuse content from the web, has accused WhatsApp’s owner Meta of failing to have the mechanisms in place to stop the spread of such material, including the type of content that was sent to former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards.
In July, Edwards admitted having indecent images of children, which were shared with him on WhatsApp, the end-to-end encrypted messaging platform. No one outside a conversation can see or access encrypted messages, including the service provider itself.
Some campaigners are pushing for changes to encryption that would give law enforcement agencies the ability to access these types of messages as part of efforts to fight the spread of child abuse material.
But others have argued that secure messaging platforms are vital to protect vulnerable people, including younger users, and that there is currently no viable technology that could create a so-called backdoor into encryption without ultimately breaking encryption and impacting user privacy and safety as a result.
Dan Sexton, chief technology officer at the IWF, accused Meta of “choosing not to” ensure such indecent imagery cannot spread in the wake of the Edwards case.
“I’d like to ask this question; how is Meta going to prevent this from happening again? What is stopping those images from being shared again on that service today, tomorrow, and the next day?” he said.
“Right now, there is nothing stopping those exact images and videos of those children being shared on that platform, even though we know about it, and they know about it, and the police know about it. The mechanisms are not there. That’s what I’d like to see changed.
“There are tried,…
[ad_2]
