Ashton Kutcher calls for protection of minors from online abuse

Actor and businessman Ashton Kutcher defended this Monday in Brussels the need to adopt a law that, on the one hand, deals with material of sexual abuse of children on the Internet, and on the other hand guarantees the privacy of the population, and he welcomed the efforts of the European Union (EU) in this area.

The European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Defense Group (ECLAG), which brings together more than 60 organizations, today organized an event attended by Kutcher, MEPs and experts, to call on the EU to “urgently” adopt the legislative proposal drawn up by the European Commission last year in May about sexual abuse of children on the Internet.

American actor, who is a co-founder Thorn – the organization that designs software locate victims of child sexual exploitation on the Internet– claimed that there are tools that can guarantee respect for privacy population with protection of minorsbut that there must be “checks and balances”.

That is why he considered the possibility of the EU becoming “exciting”. first jurisdiction from all over the world in forcing online service providers report all cases sexual abuse of minorsas well as remove all material about sexual abuse of children.

Namely, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, reported on her Twitter profile that she met with Kutcher in the Eurochamber to “discuss efforts of Europe for the protection of children”.

“I am grateful for your tireless commitment and determination in the fight against child abuse and trafficking,” she posted.

The actor claimed that it is not only a crime to rape a child, but it is also a crime to capture, share and host the abuse of that minor online.

“This pioneering law can bring privacy. Maintain privacy in all these other areas where we don’t want it to be compromised (…) and respect our children and our promise to keep them safe,” he said.

The European Commission (EC) proposed May 2022 legislation for companies operating in Internet have the obligation to disclose and remove content of sexual abuse of minors on its platformswhile alerting the authorities and asking service providers to report cases of recruitment of minors.

According to Brussels, child sexual abuse is a ‘real and growing’ danger and warn that 85 million images and videos of child sexual abuse will be reported in 2021.

However, currently, locating these violations and abuse and reporting is voluntary for companies, and 95% of all reports come from one service provider, Meta.

European representatives from the People’s Party Javier Zarzalejos and from the Renew group Hilde Vautmans assessed at the ECLAG meeting that the legal proposal from Brussels is “a big step forward in the right direction” and that it is “technologically neutral”.

“It’s a bold proposal and it’s completely victim-based,” said Vautmans, who emphasized that a balance must be found: “Adult privacy is important, but also integrity and the private life of our children. Privacy and child protection must go hand in hand.”

In addition, the MEPs recalled that this project includes the creation of a social center for the fight and prevention of sexual abuse of children, which “will guarantee citizens full respect for fundamental rights, including data protection,” Vautmans said.

A popular member of the European Parliament, Zarzalejos, emphasized that the Commission’s proposal was made “stable for the future”, since it considers future technological developmentand argued for “pre-victimization” through the continuous association of familiar systems.