New technology helps law enforcement to track child pornography

In a Government Press Release today the Minister of Internal Affairs Amy Adams says investigators tackling the trading of child sexual abuse photos on the Internet will now find it easier to detect objectionable images. Internal Affairs’ Censorship Compliance Unit has been working with Microsoft on the development of PhotoDNA, world-class technology designed to identify and remove images that exploit or endanger children.

“This is great news.” Says Alan Bell, Director of ECPAT Child ALERT. “This demonstrates the effectiveness of industry and law enforcement working in tandem to better protect children from online abuse. The Department of Internal Affairs Censorship Compliance Unit continues to lead the way in regard to the use of technology to combat the increasing amount of cybercrime involving the sexual abuse of children – many of whom have not even reached their teens.”

While law enforcement around the world works diligently to combat child exploitation and the spread of child pornography online, investigators are challenged by massive amounts of data and limited resources. The technology will allow investigators to detect and process objectionable images more efficiently as well as re-examine the methods they use to review the images.

“The trading of objectionable images of children is abhorrent to me and most New Zealanders, and as a government we will be doing what we can to stop it,” Ms Adams says.

Bell says” We applaud the Minister’s stand on this and give full credit to Microsoft to make this proven researched software tool available to law enforcement free of charge. This sort of global co-operation can make a significant impact on this dollar driven industry that trades in human misery and suffering. The gains are significant. Not only will this technology make it easier and faster to track images, it will also be of assistance in identifying the child victims so that efforts can be made to rescue them from further abuse.”

ENDS

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