It might feel like a big jump to get help to stop, but people can and do talk to us confidentially and we’re glad they reach out for help after using the chatbot. Viewing them also has huge consequences for those offending, including possible arrest and jail. “This chatbot will help people who attempt searches for sexual images of children to recognise that these images are illegal, that children were harmed to make them and are further harmed when people choose to view them. More than that, it will help us better understand the pathways into offending by those who start searching for sexual images of children. It shows how tech companies can make a real difference to keeping children safe by challenging those who may put them at risk. “Our collaboration with Pornhub is vital to this effort. We need to intervene with people at the earliest stage to get them to stop offending, or not start in the first place. It is a huge and growing problem both here and globally, and we can’t just arrest ourselves out of it. “Having the backing of End Violence is so important in allowing us to undertake this pioneering work in the field of deterrence, and it’s to Pornhub’s credit that they have stepped up to help with this project.”ĭonald Findlater, Director of the Stop It Now! helpline said: “Hundreds of people are arrested each month in the UK alone for viewing sexual images of under 18s online. A new approach is needed, and prevention must be a key part of stopping the spread of this material, something we know only serves to revictimise children over and over again as the images are shared worldwide. “The proliferation of this imagery shows the problem is not going away. “In 2021, the IWF worked to remove a record-breaking 252,000 webpages containing child sexual abuse material from the internet - an increase of 64% on 2020. “Our second-to-none knowledge of this issue has helped our tech team think outside the box in tackling the problem head on. Susie Hargreaves OBE, Chief Executive of the IWF, said: “This chatbot has immense potential to stop the spread of this harmful material and, crucially, to reduce the demand. It can take a long time to build trust and reach out for the help that is available.ĭespite these barriers, the chatbot had 158 sessions during the first 30 days where users took the step of looking further into available services from Stop It Now! to work towards changing their behaviour. Stop It Now! said people admitting to themselves they may have a sexual interest in children and actively doing something to address their behaviour is a big and daunting step to take. The IWF says the chatbot has “immense potential” to prevent people from progressing down a path which could see them accessing illegal material and, potentially, abusing children themselves as time goes on. Pornhub will block searches based on a constantly evolving, extensive database of more than 28,000 banned terms in multiple different languages, and millions of keyword combinations which may be used. This is the first project of its kind to use chatbot technology to intervene when people are attempting to search for sexual images of children and try to help them stop, or not start, offending. The project has been funded by the Safe Online Initiative at End Violence. With this new chatbot initiative, users in the UK will additionally be directed to the chatbot’s deterrence conversation. The warning also provides them with links to get help from Stop It Now! to stop their risky or illegal behaviour. Whenever someone visiting the Pornhub site appears to search for sexual images of children, it will prompt a message pop-up informing them that no results exist, and warning them that they have attempted to search for potentially abusive and illegal imagery. The IWF is the UK-based international non-profit which finds and removes images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet. MindGeek has volunteered to pilot the chatbot on the Pornhub UK platform, and did not receive, or provide, any funding for this project. The chatbot was developed by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in partnership with Stop It Now UK and Ireland. Stop It Now! runs a helpline and provides online support for people concerned about their own sexual thoughts, feelings, or actions towards children to stop their illegal or risky behaviour.
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