Statement: Five Country Ministerial points to Project Arachnid’s removal of six million pieces of CSAM as a call for tech to do more

Winnipeg, Manitoba — On the second anniversary of the release of the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (Principles), the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) applauds and supports the call from the Five Country Ministerial (Ministerial) for transparency among tech who have publicly endorsed these safeguards, and urges action from the remaining companies who have yet to implement the Principles.

As highlighted in the statement from the Ministerial, over the last five years Project Arachnid, C3P’s global tool for the disruption of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), has sent more than 11.2 million notifications to 1,000+ tech companies, spanning nearly 100 countries. This has led to the removal of six million images; just a small portion of the ever-growing ecosystem of CSAM that proliferates on the internet.

In light of this continuing, rapid upward trend, C3P echoes the call from the Ministerial for accountability amongst the companies who have endorsed the Principles. A 2021 statement by the Phoenix 11, a collective of survivors whose child sexual abuse was recorded, and in the majority of cases, distributed online, called on these companies to be transparent with their progress and effectiveness. A year later, their questions have gone relatively answered. These companies must take ownership of the massive effect they have on not only the lives of survivors, but every person that uses their platforms.

However, these companies are not alone in the digital space. There is an entire chain of electronic service providers, image boards, file host providers, and other entities through which CSAM is made accessible online. C3P reiterates a call by the Ministerial to those remaining companies, and wider industry, to endorse and transparently implement the Principles. There must be more progress towards the online protection of children and survivors.