Sajid Javid threatens tech giants over online child sex abuse

Bangla sanglap desk: Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned he will “not be afraid to take action” against tech giants if they do not help to tackle child sexual abuse online.

Mr Javid said he was “demanding” companies take “more measures” – or face new legislation.

He added that some sites were refusing to take online abuse seriously – and highlighted live-streaming of child abuse as a growing problem.

Facebook, Google and Microsoft say they are committed to tackling the issue.

Mr Javid said it was his “personal mission” to tackle online child abuse, adding: “I’ve been impressed by the progress the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Apple have made on counter-terrorism.

“Now I want to see the same level of commitment from these companies and others for child sexual exploitation.”

Last week, his cabinet colleague Jeremy Hunt criticised Google for failing to “cooperate” with the UK over the issue.

Mr Javid refused to go into detail about what new legislation surrounding abuse might look like.

However, he stated his desire for tech companies to work more closely with law enforcement agencies, stop child grooming on their sites and block abuse material as soon as they detect it being uploaded.

In his speech, Mr Javid said: “One officer I met during a visit to the NCA’s Child Exploitation Online Protection Command, who had previously worked in counter-terrorism for over 20 years, told me how in all his years of working he’s never been so shocked by the scale of the threat or the determination of the offenders as he is in his current job.”

He went on: “The threat has evolved a lot more quickly than the industry’s response and industry has just not kept up.

“So let me say this – I’m not just asking for change, I am demanding it and the people are demanding it too – and if the web giants do not take more measures to remove this type of content from their platforms, I will not be afraid to take action.”