The NCA officially marked the end of its three-year term as Chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), at a summit in London last week. 

Under our tenure as Chair, the NCA has focused on a number of initiatives to tackle global child sexual abuse.

Specifically we have developed a framework for countries to strengthen their response to offenders who travel abroad to abuse children, and worked with industry and third-sector partners on emerging threats including artificial intelligence-enabled abuse and financially motivated sexual extortion.

Other work has included the development of guidance for health and wellness of law enforcement professionals involved in investigating these crimes.

The Agency also oversaw the development of joint public statements from the VGT, warning of law enforcement's concerns of the 'technological tipping point' on our collective efforts to protect children around the world, caused by the introduction of end-to-end-encryption on social media and the rapid development of generative AI tools without the necessary safeguards.

As the work of the VGT continues, we are delighted to hand over the role of Chair for the next three years to the Australian Federal Police.

James Babbage, DG Threats at the National Crime Agency, said: "The NCA is proud to have chaired the Virtual Global Taskforce on Child Sexual Abuse since October 2021. Over the three years, we have led the Taskforce in engaging industry and third-sector partners to address emerging threats, such as abuse enabled by artificial intelligence, and financially-motivated sexual extortion.

"Child sexual abuse is a global crime, without borders. Bringing key stakeholders together from around the world provides us with important opportunities to strengthen our collective response and protect children everywhere.

"The VGT is a driving force for global action, and we look forward to VGT continuing its work under the leadership of the Australian Federal Police."

Justine Gough, Assistant Commissioner at the Australian Federal Police and new Chair of the VGT, said: "The AFP is delighted to take over the Chair of the VGT. We are committed to collaborating with our international partners in the global fight against online child sexual exploitation and are excited to continue building on the excellent work that has been delivered by the VGT under the leadership of the NCA."

05 November 2024