UPDATE: CRIN and defenddigitalme launched Privacy and Protection, a report looking at a children’s rights approach to encryption.

The issue of encryption and online child sexual abuse is currently strongly divided between approaches centred on child protection and those focused on privacy. Through this project we want to facilitate a nuanced discussion which ensures that children’s rights are considered and protected on all fronts, and help develop a legal and policy response that is based on collective efforts. 

Why are we working on this project?

There is an ongoing debate around the role of encryption in the fight against online child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSEA). The issue at its core is: to what extent should encryption be used in online communications, and when and how should electronic service providers be able to scan and report messages in order to combat CSEA online? The problem is that the debate is currently polarised: a divide has emerged between child protection and civil liberties groups. This is preventing the development of a nuanced, collective response.

Why now?

There is an urgent need to provide a more comprehensive and balanced children’s rights approach to encryption. The debate is expected to intensify this year, as important policy developments around the accountability of platforms and children’s rights are taking place, for example, at the EU level, in the US and the UK.


What do we want to achieve?

We want to develop a legal and policy response to encryption that takes all children’s rights seriously, from freedom of expression and privacy to protection from violence. It should not be just one or the other. We aim to bridge the divide that has formed between communities working on child protection, privacy and freedom of expression by building an approach to encryption that is meaningful across these groups. We want to enable collective advocacy to ensure that approaches to encryption respect all children’s rights.


What have we done so far, and how?

The project officially launched at the end of April 2022, but we have been involved in the conversation for a while and laid the groundwork to bring key players together.

Encryption and Children's Rights in under 1,000 words

This is a series of articles intended to give an accessible overview of some of the current issues, debates and developments in this area, and how we are thinking about them. We will be adding to this series as we carry out research, interviews and consultations with a range of actors.

Our first piece explains why there is a debate around encryption and children’s rights. Our second piece focuses on encryption and the right of access to information.

We spoke on the need for a children’s rights-based approach to encryption

In conversations about Apple’s proposed child safety features, at the European #PrivacyCamp21 event and at the Canadian Internet Governance Forum 2020, we talked about the importance of thinking about an approach to encryption that takes all children’s rights seriously, from protection from sexual violence to privacy and free expression.

We’ve built relationships with the key players

We are in a good position to help build collaboration across the many sectors relevant to the fight against online CSEA. In our work on children’s rights in the digital age, we brought together child protection, free expression and children’s rights organisations during the UK Online Harms Bill consultation, in order to find common ground.

 

Related areas of focus

Children’s rights in the digital age

Read more on this here.