'Nothing stopping' child abuse image sharing on WhatsApp, group warns

Nothing is stopping child sexual abuse imagery spreading on WhatsApp, a safety group has warned.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is calling on Meta, which owns WhatsApp, to do more to protect children and put mechanisms in place.

The group suggested these mechanisms could stop the spread of material like the content sent to disgraced BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards.

A WhatsApp spokesperson said the app's users had the "ability to report directly to WhatsApp so we can ban any user who shares this heinous material and report them" to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

The IWF is an organisation which helps to detect and remove child abuse content from the internet.

Dan Sexton, its chief technology officer, said Meta was "choosing not to" ensure indecent imagery could not spread in the wake of the Edwards case.

"I'd like to ask this question: how is Meta going to prevent this from happening again? What is stopping those images being shared again on that service today, tomorrow, and the next day?

"Right now, there is nothing stopping those exact images and videos of those children being shared on that platform, even though we know about it, and they know about it, and the police know about it," he said.

A WhatsApp spokesperson defended the app's current safety measures, saying that other messaging apps "don’t have the safety measures we have developed".

They added: "End-to-end encryption is one of the most important technologies to keep everyone safe online, including young people.

"We know people, including journalists, activists and politicians, don’t want us reading their private messages so we have developed robust safety measures to prevent, detect and combat abuse while maintaining online security."

Rick Jones, acting director of intelligence at the National Crime Agency, said: "Technology is available to identify these images, but most companies are choosing to design their platforms in a way that does not allow it to be used either at all, or to its full effectiveness."

Mr Jones said end-to-end encryption could not protect social media app customers because the companies "simply cannot see illegal behaviour on their own systems".

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said that social media firms "must act and implement robust detection measures" so that their platforms are not "safe spaces for criminals".

"UK law is crystal clear - the creation, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse images is illegal and we continue to invest in law enforcement agencies to support their efforts in identifying offenders and safeguarding children."

"Technology exists to detect and prevent the abhorrent abuse of thousands of children and ensure victims are given privacy by stopping the repeated sharing and viewing of images and videos of their abuse," the safeguarding minister said.

The debate over end-to-end encryption is ongoing and there are those who argue it is not technically possible to use systems which scan messages for harmful content before they are sent, without breaking encryption.

Last year, the UK government said it would postpone using controversial measures to scan messaging apps for harmful content until it was "technically feasible".

Others have praised end-to-end encryption as a tool that keeps children safe.

Stephen Bonner, the Information Commissioner's Office executive director for innovation and technology, said encryption helped keep children safe online by not allowing "criminals and abusers to send them harmful content or access their pictures or location".