Online child sexual exploitation is one of the most widespread and impactful abuses of the internet to cause harm.
The CyberTipline is the centralized system in the U.S. for reporting online child exploitation. It is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a nonprofit organization. If online platforms in the U.S. become aware of child sexual abuse material (CSAM)1 federal law requires that they report it to the CyberTipline.2 NCMEC attempts to identify the location of the user who sent and received the image, video, or in some cases text, and may attempt to locate the victim as well, then sends the report to the relevant law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Many trust and safety employees at online platforms, staff at civil society groups, and law enforcement officers believe that the CyberTipline process—from report submission to potential prosecution—is not living up to its potential. Those who feel this way span the ideological spectrum from civil rights activists to pro-law enforcement lobbyists. Across the board there is a sense that CyberTipline reports can be enormously valuable, but that reports that could lead to the rescue of a child being abused are not being sufficiently investigated.
In this report we show that a core issue is that two CyberTipline reports can look nearly identical to a law enforcement officer. Investigating both, however, could yield very different results: one may reveal no further illicit activity, while the other could uncover evidence of hands-on abuse. Through interviews with 66 in-dividuals, including law enforcement officers, NCMEC staff, online platform staff, prosecutors, and defense attorneys, we identify the factors contributing to this issue, including incomplete reports from platforms, challenges NCMEC faces in rapidly improving the CyberTipline technical infrastructure, and legal constraints on NCMEC and U.S. law enforcement. We conclude with recommendations for stakeholders.
- Date Published:4.22.2024
- Original Publication: Stanford Digital Repository