Protecting Children in the Age of End-to-End Encryption

Date

2022

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

American University Washington College of Law

Abstract

It is easy to let conversations about online child sexual exploitation and abuse devolve into no-win arguments about the merits (or lack thereof) of end-to-end encryption. Law enforcement officials bemoan that this technology leads to criminals “going dark,” meaning they can communicate in places that police cannot access, even with a warrant. Privacy advocates cry that the technology is necessary and dismiss law enforcement’s “but the children” arguments as fearmongering. This report sidesteps this debate by simply assuming, without judgment, that end-to-end encryption is here to stay, and asks, how are we going to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse? This report examines this problem in depth

Description

Keywords

child sexual exploitation, online sexual exploitation, child sexual abuse material, encryption, intervention, tools

Citation

Draper, L. (2022). Protecting Children in the Age of End-to-End Encryption. Joint PIJIP/TLS Research paper series, 80. https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/research/80/

DOI