CSAM and child safety
Last May, the European Commission published a bill aimed at preventing the sexual abuse of children. The proposed policy has the potential to make a significant difference in the safety of children, both online and offline – and in our fight to build a world where every child can be safe, curious and happy.
For more information, read this open letter to the EUin which Thorn, along with more than 70 international organizations, joined in a collective call to action to make the internet a safer place for children.
Ashton Kutcher speaks
To help the public – especially those in the EU with a stake in protecting children – better understand the importance of the legislation and rally behind it, Thorn co-founder Ashton Kutcher delivered a keynote address. which you can watch in full below.
At the event, Ashton spoke passionately about the scale of CSAM and why it is such a unique crime compared to others. “Child sexual abuse is the only crime for which capture the crime is as much a crime as the abuse itself. He then understood how people can still be hesitant to get involved. “We all have things we are afraid of because we don’t understand. We are all afraid of feeling stupid. I think that’s part of what’s going on here. We are afraid to approach this legislation because it is hard, it is complicated and we do not understand the technology.
(Photo LR: Thorn Co-Founder Ashton Kutcher, Thorn CEO Julie Cordua, MEP David Lega, Children’s Intergroup Secretary General Emilio Puccio, Lega MEP Advisor Natalie Tegelberg)
Ashton was joined by our CEO, Julie Cordua, and our Director of Policy, Emily Slifer, at the event, which was paired with a number of separate one-on-one meetings with prominent EU officials who have the influence and ability to create and shape EU policy designed to defend children online and protect them from sexual abuse.
We all have a part to play
At Thorn, we know that defending children against sexual abuse requires the strong commitment of a lot players, and we can only make inroads as an entire ecosystem working together on behalf of children. This includes policymakers who can bring about positive legislative change in this space, and that’s why Thorn lends his expertise to ensure that a policy like this not only gets through, but that its content is truly designed to work towards a world we all believe in – one in which every child is free to be safe, curious and happy.
Get updates
As this legislation progresses, you can stay informed in several different ways.
First, follow Thorn on LinkedIn And Twitteras well as our European partner organizations such as Missing Children Europe, ECPAT International, Land of men, brave moveAnd Internet Watch Foundation.
You can also sign up for Thorn’s emails to stay up to date on all of Thorn’s efforts to advocate for children.
