Trend Toward User-uploaded Content May Increase Risk of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Like many forms of online entertainment, the adult industry is increasingly shifting to a model based on user-created and user-uploaded content, rather than the traditional studio-produced model. This decentralized format may create new opportunities for individual content creators, but it poses significant risks for adult content platforms, social media companies, and payment service providers.

User-uploaded content increases the risk of:

• Copyright infringement of both studio content or user-generated content
• Potentially problematic content such as hidden cams, deepfakes, and sex involving intoxication
• Banned content such as bestiality, nonconsensual sex, and child sexual abuse material

Of these, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is one of the most urgent issues because of the pervasiveness of the problem and the vulnerability of the exploited population. This kind of content is often linked to child abduction and other forms of exploitation.

As part of LegitScript's effort to identify and stop the dissemination of CSAM online, we partnered with the "International Center for Missing and Exploited Children" (ICMEC) to improve our monitoring capabilities. ICMEC is a private, non-governmental, nonprofit, global organization that works to make the world safer for children by eradicating child abduction, sexual abuse, and exploitation. ICMEC advocates for changes in legislation, provides resources and training to public and private organizations, and collaborates globally to protect children worldwide.

One of ICMEC's pillars is the Global Missing Children's Network, which offers resources to law enforcement and the public at large, to assist with preventing and responding to reports of missing children, and currently has 30 member countries and 33 total members, on four continents. In their fight against online child sexual abuse, ICMEC partners with leading technology companies to identify and develop new global solutions that protect children from abduction, sexual abuse, and exploitation.

The partnership between ICMEC and LegitScript included a 12-week virtual training program for LegitScript staff on online child sexual abuse and exploitation. This training has expanded LegitScript's expertise in cybercrime against children, and supports our goal to make the internet a safer place, not only for adults, but especially for children.

Furthermore, LegitScript reports information about online abuse and/or sexual images of children to the CyberTipline of ICMEC's sister organization, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). NCMEC's CyberTipline is the United States' centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. Members of the public can make reports about child sexual abuse materials to the CyberTipline.

As user-uploaded adult content seeps into non-adult platforms - such as social media websites, general online forums, and cyberlockers - tracking and stopping the dissemination of CSAM online can become increasingly challenging. Combatting this growing problem requires the collaboration of law enforcement, internet platforms, payment processors, nonprofits, and monitoring specialists. To learn more about how your company can better mitigate and remove problematic adult content, contact us.