Reports on online sexual exploitation of children have tripled in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. To strengthen international collaboration to effectively identify children and remove abuse material from the internet, ECPAT Philippines’ hotline partnered with the country’s cybercrime investigation unit and INHOPE – a global network of hotlines that help speed up the process of identifying and removing illegal images and videos of children.
In collaboration with ECPAT Sweden who’s been running a reporting hotline for many years, ECPAT Philippines established their own a few years ago. It’s an online platform which allows anyone to easily report child sexual abuse materials found online. The reports are assessed by a hotline analyst, and once it’s verified as an illegal image or video, it’s now a part of the INHOPE process.
Reports will quickly be forwarded to INHOPE member hotlines in the countries where the material is hosted, and from there, it will be taken down for good. The collaboration with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center also means relevant information will be shared for investigation and prosecution of cases with connections to the Philippines.
Thank you, ECPAT Philippines, for your hard work in fighting the spread of online child sexual abuse material. And congratulations to this important partnership that will make your work even more successful.
Press release: ECPAT Philippines and DICT cybercrime center to operate an Internet Hotline to fight child sexual abuse materials
How to report child sexual abuse and exploitation