‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Child protection online: Global legislative, regulatory and policy milestones in early 2024 Welcome to a new six-monthly update for WeProtect Global Alliance members providing an overview of legislative, regulatory and policy updates on child sexual abuse and exploitation across the world. 2024 has been a landmark year with significant national developments, regional consolidations and increased global cooperation. As with WeProtect Global Alliance’s Model National Response Framework, these updates underscore the need for a multi-stakeholder approach, engaging industry partners and civil society organisations.   This update highlights various national and regional efforts from Brazil’s Resolution No. 245, which mandates age verification mechanisms, to Canada’s Online Harms Bill and Malaysia’s plans for an Online Safety Bill. Regional initiatives include the African Union’s African Child Online Safety and Empowerment Policy. We also note advancements in deepening international collaborations, such as the Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and the United Kingdom, and the position statement from the Global Online Safety Regulators’ Network. Please note this is not an exhaustive list of developments and is intended as a summary only. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS Barbados In early 2024, Barbados introduced a comprehensive new Cybercrime Bill that significantly enhances protections for children against child sexual abuse and exploitation online. Key provisions include stricter penalties for grooming and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material. Brazil The National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda) approved Resolution No. 245 on the rights of children and adolescents in the digital environment in April 2024.   According to the resolution, children and adolescents must be protected from rights violations related to content, contract, contact and conduct risks, including sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation. The resolution also provides that effective age verification mechanisms must be provided by in-scope services so that children and adolescents do not have access to platforms, products, services and content that are illegal or incompatible with their age.   Information and communication technologies are responsible for forwarding reports of violations to the National Human Rights Ombudsman, police authorities and other relevant authorities. Failure to forward violations will result in penalties provided in Brazil’s Statute of the Child and Adolescent. Canada In February 2024, the Government of Canada introduced the Online Harms Bill, which makes online platforms responsible for addressing harmful content and creating a safer online space, particularly for children. Services would be required to implement design features, such as age-appropriate measures, and to take the interests of children into account when developing products and features.   The Bill introduces a new legislative framework to reduce exposure to seven kinds of harmful content on online platforms, supported by a Digital Safety Commission and a Digital Safety Ombudsperson. The Bill is currently at its second reading in the House of Commons and is subject to further review by Parliament. Malaysia The Government of Malaysia has announced plans to develop a comprehensive legal policy on online safety, with an Online Safety Bill possibly introduced during the next sitting of the Parliament. The Government plans to hold nationwide focus group discussions to obtain input from civil society organisations, industry stakeholders and the wider public. Tanzania In February 2024, Tanzania launched a national child online protection campaign to raise awareness about online dangers for children. The initiative, supported by a newly established national advisory council, aims to educate children, parents, and teachers about online safety through various media over a year. United Kingdom The United Kingdom has been actively advancing its legislative and regulatory framework to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation online, with several key developments taking place in 2024. Following the enactment of the Online Safety Act in October 2023, Ofcom, the Act’s regulatory authority, initiated three major consultations:   Protecting People from Illegal Online Harms: This consultation, open from November 2023 to February 2024, sought input on how internet services that enable user-generated content and search services should approach their new duties relating to illegal content.Guidance for Service Providers Publishing Pornographic Content: This consultation focused on creating guidelines for service providers that publish pornographic content with the aim to ensure that these platforms implement robust measures to prevent access by minors. The consultation ran from December 2023 to March 2024.Protecting Children from Online Harms: Launched on 8 May 2024 and closing 17 July 2024, this consultation addresses the specific needs and risks associated with protecting children online. It aims to collect views and recommendations on how to safeguard children from both harmful content and interactions on digital platforms.   These codes will come into force after the Parliament approves them, the illegal harms duties are expected to take effect from around the end of 2024. While the Online Safety Act has already criminalised the sharing of “deepfake” intimate images, creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images is to be made an offence under a new law. A new duty to report law will also be tabled in Parliament to introduce a new mandatory reporting duty for those taking part in regulated activities to report if they witness child sexual abuse or a child discloses sexual abuse. United States In the United States, there has been significant legislative activity to enhance protections against child sexual abuse exploitation online. An important piece of legislation, the Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology Act (or the REPORT Act), was signed into law in May 2024.   The REPORT Act introduces several crucial updates to enhance protections against child sexual abuse and exploitation online. Key changes include extending the mandatory data retention period for electronic communication service providers and remote computing service providers from 90 days to one year, allowing more time for law enforcement to investigate cases and access necessary information. The Act also expands NCMEC’s limited liability to its contracted vendors, requiring them to meet stringent cybersecurity standards, thus improving the secure storage and transfer of child sexual abuse material data.   Before the passage of the REPORT Act, children depicted in child sexual abuse material and their representatives were in a grey area regarding their liability for illegal content. The Act provides legal immunity for children featured in such material and their representatives who report the imagery. It’s hoped that this change will encourage more victims and their representatives to come forward without fear of legal repercussions. The Act also significantly increases penalties for providers who fail to report child sexual exploitation online and broadens the scope of mandatory reporting to include child sex trafficking and coercion and enticement of minors.   The Department of Homeland Security also launched a national public awareness campaign Know2Protectto educate and empower children, teens, parents, trusted adults and policymakers to prevent and combat child sexual abuse and exploitation online.   The Alliance will be closely following the journey of the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (or the EARN IT Act), which aims to remove tech companies’ blanket immunity from civil and criminal liability related to child sexual abuse material and establish a national commission tasked with identifying tools and strategies to curtail online sexual exploitation of children. We are also monitoring development of the Kids Online Safety Act and the Invest in Child Safety Act.   REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS European Union The extension of interim regulation on a temporary derogation from certain provisions of the e-privacy directive for voluntary detection of child sexual abuse online was approved by the European Parliament and the European Council in early 2024. The derogation, which is now extended until 3 April 2026, allows streaming and video media applications to voluntarily detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material. In February 2024, the European Commission published a proposal on combatting child sexual abuse, which covers offences such as livestreaming of child sexual abuse and intentional access and dissemination of child sexual abuse deepfakes. African Union The Executive Council of the African Union endorsed the African Child Online Safety and Empowerment Policy in February 2024. The policy aims to identify gaps and areas needing harmonisation to implement children’s rights and address cross-border challenges in Africa. The policy provides a framework for national policymakers and regulators to ensure that ICT providers respect children’s rights. Additionally, it seeks to equip children and responsible adults with the necessary tools and skills to ensure children’s safety in the online environment. The policy offers a common set of principles, goals, and assessment criteria based on global best practices, a multi-stakeholder framework for implementing child online safety policies, and a set of priority actions at the regional level. One of its key recommendations is the establishment of an African child online resource fund and programme to support the implementation of the policy. Great strides in cooperation Australia and the United Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in February 2024 to advance online safety and security and to amplify the online safety regulatory regimes of both countries. The MoU commits both governments to intensify their collaboration on online safety and security through various initiatives, including in-person dialogues, coordinated bilateral and multilateral engagement, regulatory cooperation, joint research projects, and partnerships with industry to address safety challenges posed by design choices. DG CNECT, the European Commission entity responsible for enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA), has partnered with Australia’s online safety regulator eSafety to enhance the regulation of online platforms under Australia’s Online Safety Act (OSA) and EU’s DSA. The partnership focuses on transparency and accountability, risk assessment and mitigation measures for online platforms, the regulation of algorithms and AI, handling illegal online content, and protecting children’s rights and safety online. This cooperation includes information exchanges, expert dialogues, sharing best practices, joint training and potentially coordinated research projects. Global regulatory alignment The Global Online Safety Regulators’ Network, launched in 2022, published a position statement on regulatory coherence and coordination in May 2024, propelled by a desire to minimise compliance challenges for service providers operating globally and ensure legal certainty. Key areas of focus include harmonising risk assessments, sharing user complaints, coordinating industry information requests and identifying best practices for safety measures.   BUILDING A NATIONAL RESPONSE Multisectoral, multi-layered interventions are essential to prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Alliance’s Model National Response (MNR) framework aims to help countries to build their response to online child sexual exploitation and can guide efficient and effective investments to tackle this issue at individual, institutional and systemic levels. The framework pillars reflect that a wide set of capabilities are required to prevent and tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse to ensure a complete national response. Learn more about our Model National Response framework on our website where you’ll find a copy of the framework, a self assessment tool and more.