New YouGov polling has found overwhelming public support for measures to protect children from abuse in private messaging.
The survey of 1,723 adults across the UK found most believe there should be a legal duty on tech firms to identify child sexual abuse in private messaging and to disrupt it in end-to-end encrypted environments.
It comes ahead of the next stage of the Online Safety Bill which would give Ofcom powers to require platforms to use accredited technology to identify child sexual abuse in end-to-end encrypted messaging apps if a significant risk to children has been identified. The new polling shows this measure is backed by seven in ten (73%) of the UK public.1
The polling also found:
- Eight in ten (79%) think companies should seek to develop technology that allows them to identify child sexual abuse in end-to-end encrypted messaging apps
- 60% of the public think it should be a legal requirement for tech companies to scan for child sexual abuse in private messaging services
- Eight in ten (79%) think it should be a legal requirement on social media sites.
Offenders continue to exploit social media to abuse children. Cases include children being groomed and blackmailed into sharing intimate images of themselves.
