We’re working to revolutionise warning messages that prevent online child sexual abuse.
Backed by Nominet, our Project Intercept is the first of its kind anywhere. It works with technology companies to roll out gold standard warnings to stop people viewing sexual images of children or having online sexual conversations with children.
The problem
The spread of the internet has made it easier for people to harm children online.
People searching, sharing and creating child sexual abuse material on the internet currently do so largely unchallenged. Websites and online platforms don’t have a consistent approach to warning messages for people who are on a path to offending. A few do it well, some do it badly, and most don’t do it at all. We want to change this.
The solution
Working with technology companies, from search engines to social media, from gaming to file sharing, we want to make warning messages the norm, not the exception.
Encouraging them to adopt warning messages is part of our goal, but further than that, we want them to experiment with us, to find the most effective messages for their platform.
The case for warnings
Ofcom, the online safety regulator, has recommended warnings for large search services , as a way of stopping people who are searching for sexual images of children. They also recommend signposting to places like our Stop It Now helpline.
From our clinical work and research with people who have offended, and some who were on a path to offending, we know that that there are four key messages that warnings need to include.
- Viewing sexual images of children and having online sexual conversations with children is a crime
- It causes harm to children
- There are consequences for the offender
- But there is help available to stop and change
Offering help is key. Not only are we deterring people from starting out down a path to offending, we are signposting them to help in the form of Stop It Now. Not everyone will be ready at the first or second warning – but imagine if warnings were commonplace and confronted people wherever they searched for this material. Everyone who needed to know, would know that help exists.
Impact
For over a decade, we’ve been pioneering this deterrence approach through working with technology companies like Google, Meta and Aylo (owner of Pornhub), through partnerships with charities like the Internet Watch Foundation, and in our campaigning.
Read about the impact of our chatbot on Pornhub and our years of deterrence campaigning.
Want to know more?
Ready to be part of something meaningful? Discover how you can contribute to to Project Intercept and join us on our journey to deter child sexual abuse online.
Together, we can make a lasting impact.
