New technology and collaboration to restrict child pornography on the Internet

A new software programme that protects internal networks against child pornography images was presented on Monday at a press conference arranged by the World Childhood Foundation and TeliaSonera Sweden. The press conference was honoured by the presence of H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden.

The Swedish data security company NetClean Technologies has developed the protective software with the support of The World Childhood Foundation and TeliaSonera Sweden. – Hundreds of thousands of pornographic images of children are spread every minute all over the world,” says Gunilla von Arbin, Secretary General of the World Childhood Foundation. “Every time this happens, a crime is committed in the form of child abuse. The images never disappear and stay with the children the rest of their lives. The trend is explosive and must be stopped. Childhood operates in different ways to prevent child abuse. When NetClean presented their project to the organisation two years ago, Childhood [and TeliaSonera] decided to help fund the project with the objective of developing a commercially viable product. – Now that the technology is fully developed, it is a question of getting as many companies as possible to install the new software, continues Gunilla von Arbin. At Childhood, we will actively work with our partners in Sweden and abroad to achieve this. With the new product, which works similar to antivirus software, companies and other organizations with internal networks can protect themselves against the downloading and distribution of child pornography pictures. If an illegal image should penetrate a network, it is detected and a company can implement countermeasures. The software’s most crucial function is that it has a preventive effect. If someone views child pornography, that person risks being detected. – TeliaSonera and our customers do not accept the spread of child pornography over the Internet, says Marie Ehrling, head of TeliaSonera Sweden. For years we have taken vigorous measures to fight against child pornography and we must continue to find new solutions and initiatives to make it even more difficult to distribute such abusive images. This is why it feels good that TeliaSonera Sweden, the World Childhood Foundation and Netclean Technologies can present this new software solution today. The National Swedish Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen) is playing an important role in the project. Using so-called digital fingerprints, a new analytic tool converts child pornography images in police databases into unique digital codes. The new software searches and detects these codes a company’s network.