European coalition bids to fight online child porn trade

A European coalition of specialist child protection agencies, financial institutions and internet providers has been launched to crack down on the online trade in child abuse images.

The European Financial Coalition is being led by the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, with key partners including MasterCard, Microsoft, PayPal and Europol.

Payment systems targeted

The new body will target electronic payment systems used by paedophiles to purchase child exploitation images online in order to track down the victims and perpetrators of abuse.

Home secretary Jacqui Smith said that the UK was a world leader in online safety, with child sex abuse images currently being blocked on 95% of all consumer broadband lines.

She added: “This new coalition will unite even more groups at the international level to track, disrupt, prosecute and seize the assets of those who profit from these crimes, and I urge other financial and internet organisations to support the work of the coalition and help the fight against child sex abuse.”

Perpetrators using more complex sites

CEOP chief executive Jim Gamble said that due to an increasing number of successful convictions perpetrators were using more complex subscription sites and news groups to seek out child exploitation images.

He added: “Using financial intelligence we are locating more and more high risk offenders – now a 70% plus success rate compared with 8% prior to our launch in 2006.

“Now by applying the individual lessons learnt and by coming together with our combined skills, focusing on collective objectives, we plan to eradicate the remnant of that industry once and for all.”

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