The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Media’s latest report, “Selfie Generation: What’s behind the rise of self-generated indecent images of children online?”, has made 10 recommendations the UK Government and industry must adopt to safeguard children.

The report focuses on how children are living in two worlds simultaneously – online and offline – and how it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that they are kept safe.

“Selfie Generation: What’s behind the rise of self-generated indecent images of children online?” is about a specific source of harm to children: the proliferation of self-generated child sexual abuse imagery, and the various ways that it is solicited, created and distributed online.

Ten recommendations in total are made in the report, including:

• Tech companies should not introduce encryption unless they can guarantee that they can still remove illegal content and cooperate with law enforcement in the same way they do now.
• “Self-generated” indecent imagery should be referred to as “first person produced imagery”.
• The Home Office should review all relevant legislation to ensure it is as easy as possible for children to have their images removed from the internet and ensure that they can have confidence in the removal process.

This report was launched at a time when more than one in seven children aged 11-18 (15%) have been asked to send self-generated images and sexual messages. Moreover, 7% of 11-16-year-olds have been asked to share a naked or semi-naked image of themselves. Further data shows that, on average, one child per primary class has been sent or shown a naked or semi-naked image online by an adult.

Chris Elmore, Chair of the APPG on Social Media and MP for Ogmore, said:

“Social media companies have long presided over an industry underpinned with Wild West practices. Whenever they are pushed to take responsibility for the content they host they simply shrug their shoulders hoping attention will move away from them. This has gone on too long.

Our latest report shows the UK Government and industry must act now to protect children from online abuse and from becoming victims. The proposals by Facebook to implement end-to-end encryption for their Messenger service will cripple child protection programs and increase the risk of harm on social media platforms.

There are ten recommendations in our report that must be adopted. The Online Safety Bill is currently proceeding through pre-legislative scrutiny and this poses an opportunity for our reforms to be included.”

The final report can be viewed HERE

Chris Elmore MP is available for interviews to discuss the contents of the report. Please contact luke@cathoddu.com for more information.

The ten recommendations made by the report are:

1. Tech companies should not introduce encryption unless they can guarantee that they can still remove illegal content and cooperate with law enforcement in the same way they do now.
2. The RSE curriculum should facilitate constructive conversations about healthy relationships in a digital age, that avoid blaming children. The Department for Education and relevant devolved Education Departments must ensure that schools are well-resourced, and teachers receive appropriate training to facilitate these messages. The APPG recommends that interventions are targeted at primary aged children, as well as older teenagers.
3. The Home Office should review all relevant legislation to ensure it is as easy as possible for children to have their images removed from the internet and ensure that they can have confidence in the removal process.
4. Tech companies should be proactive in taking responsibility for ensuring they act with a duty of care towards their users. They should cooperate constructively with Government and other stakeholders. Platforms should ensure there are clear ways for users to raise complaints and request images are taken down.
5. “Self-generated” indecent imagery should be referred to as “first person produced imagery”.
6. There should be clearer guidelines established for policing throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland relating to Outcome 21 to ensure a more consistent outcome that does not blame or criminalise children unnecessarily.
7. The Online Safety Bill and other relevant legislation such as the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive should encourage age verification of adult websites to prevent children from accessing them.
8. The Government should publish more information about the requirements in the Online Safety Bill as soon as possible, including how Ofcom will designate expert co-regulators in priority areas such as child sexual abuse.
9. The Government should ensure that organisations working to remove illegal content or preventing offending are well-funded and resourced, particularly areas that were previously EU-funded.
10. Platforms should take all possible measures to tackle harmful fake accounts, particularly those held by sex offenders.