WeProtect Global Alliance

MEDIA RELEASE: Abu Dhabi, UAE – 4 December 2024 – A landmark event – the WeProtect Global Summit – will gather over 600 multidisciplinary stakeholders from around the world in person and online to discuss and take pre-emptive action on critical technology trends that will impact online child safety over the next 5-10 years. Over the last decade, the world has seen a significant growth in child sexual exploitation and abuse online. In response, WeProtect Global Alliance, a movement of over 310 governments, companies and charities, is co-hosting a Global Summit with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of the Interior to drive urgent action to turn the tide on this urgent issue for children around the world. This year, the WeProtect Global Alliance marks a decade of impactful work in safeguarding children online, celebrating its achievements at its second hosting in the UAE, reaffirming the UAE’s commitment to creating a safer digital world for future generations The Summit, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of the Interior, will take place at Erth, and online. With one case of a children being exploited or abused across the world every second, this growing global crisis demands urgent action across borders and countries. Under the theme Focus on the Future, the Summit will convene top government officials, tech innovators, child protection experts, and survivor advocates to tackle the most pressing challenges in safeguarding children in the digital age. The Summit aims to strengthen partnerships between governments and technology providers and social media companies, to collectively build a safer digital. This year’s Summit will feature the launch of a report by WeProtect Global Alliance and Thorn Evolving Technologies Horizon Scan: A review of technologies carrying notable risk and opportunity in the fight against online child sexual exploitation, which explores emerging technology trends based on feedback from over 300 global experts. Designed to provoke forward-thinking dialogue, the report examines the evolving digital landscape and examines key technologies including predictive AI, generative AI, end-to-end encryption, extended reality, decentralization, and quantum computing. The report aims to provoke global conversations on how governments, civil society and the tech sector can stay ahead of the curve in protecting children from harm. Read the full release: https://lnkd.in/dsqB3RAr #FocusOnTheFuture #WeProtectGlobalSummit

Our strength is in working together as a global movement to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse online. 🌍 🟣The #WeProtectGlobalSummit 2024, held in Abu Dhabi on 4-5 December, brought together over 800 policymakers, tech leaders, advocates, and survivors from across the globe to tackle the escalating crisis of online child sexual exploitation and abuse. 🗨️The summit reinforced a critical message: combating online child exploitation is not a future goal but an immediate priority. The path forward requires collective action, bold leadership, and the determination to ensure every child is safe in the digital world. #WeProtectGlobalSummit #DigitalSafety #ChildProtection

Last week in Abu Dhabi, I had the honour of delivering the keynote address at the WeProtect Global Alliance Summit. I can hardly believe it’s been 10 years since I founded the initiative. I am incredibly proud of what our Alliance has accomplished together - but so much work remains. The scale of this crisis is almost unimaginable: every minute 16 children become victims of online exploitation. By the end of today, over 822,000 children will be affected - more than 300 million every year, and the numbers are growing. These aren’t just statistics. They represent real lives forever changed by fear, shame, and trauma. In my speech, I addressed emerging threats like AI-enabled manipulative apps, sextortion, predatory grooming and the devastating impact of algorithms that put our youngest and most vulnerable at risk. Bold, transformative action across technology, government and society is urgently needed. There is hope. Together, we have the tools, innovation, and commitment to create a safer digital world for children everywhere. Children everywhere are counting on us. Let’s answer their call. Watch the short clip below to learn why we must act now. Mark your calendars: “Protect Us” - a collaboration with SHFT Productions and WeProtect Global Alliance - will premiere on January 16, 2025. #WeProtect #AI #ChildProtection

🔑 The key to tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse? Collaboration. The Model National Response Framework is built on the understanding that governments, tech companies, and civil society must work together to make meaningful change. It’s not just a document—it’s a blueprint for action, offering practical steps to protect children online. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dxE-kRxt #WeProtect #OnlineSafety #ChildRights

Thank you, WeProtect Global Alliance, for having me as a speaker at the #WeProtectGlobalSummit 2024 in Abu Dhabi, which explored frameworks and strategies to ensure a safe digital space for children.   The culture of impunity, enjoyed by the criminals, has to end. A new culture of accountability and consciousness must arise, one rooted in policy parity. #CSEAM (Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material) is a borderless crime, and combatting it requires a borderless response. It requires a whole-of-society and a whole-of-government approach.   ➡️We have to hit the economy of this organised, transnational crime by following the money-trail and looking beneath the surface. ➡️We have to use technology for good. We need an international database and a globally binding instrument to share data on offenders who download and circulate such material.   ➡️We must invest in infrastructure, particularly technical infrastructure.   ➡️Knowledge and awareness among children is crucial to fight this crime. Children must know that they can report crimes and that action will be taken. ➡️The trust deficit between the judiciary, police, and the people must be bridged through action and increased prosecutions.   At the end of the day, if we fail to protect the children, nothing else we do in life matters.   #StrongerTogether #SafeOnline #ChildSafety #DigitalProtection #FocusOnTheFuture 

💜💜 Patrick Krens from Child Helpline International shares his insights from our 2024 Global Summit last week below. Did you attend our Global Summit too? What were your key takeaways?

You don't have to be a member of the Alliance to stay up to date with the latest news, resources and information. 😀 ➡️Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and never miss out again: https://lnkd.in/dVJ8s6c

This year’s #WeProtectGlobalSummit challenged us to 'Focus on the Future'—a safer digital world where children thrive without fear. From innovative AI tools to survivor-centred policies, we’ve seen the potential of shared knowledge and action. As our keynote speaker Nina Jane Patel said, this is within our power to change. Let’s build on this momentum. 🚀 #WeProtect #SafeOnline #EveryChildMatters #EndCSEA

New challenges continually emerge in the fight to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse online. Operating in unchartered territory didn’t stop Manchester Police bringing this perpetrator to justice for creating ‘cartoonish pseudo child sexual abuse images’.

In recent years, online dissemination of radical material by extremist groups has increased, resulting in exposure to a wider audience. Simultaneously, the growth of the internet and related technologies has increased the availability of child sexual abuse material. Today you can read our #TrendsAndIssues report on the overlap between viewing child sexual abuse material and fringe or radical content online. https://bit.ly/4gt6jqn #AICResearch with authors Tim Cubitt, PhD Anthony Morgan Rick Brown