This briefing note is based on the findings and discussions from the Safe Digital Futures: Data for change event co-organised by the European Parliament, End Violence’s Safe Online Initiative and WeProtect Global Alliance in November 2022.

The public event was preceded by a day-long technical workshop which invited around 40 experts from relevant sectors, including civil society organisations, academia, government and the tech industry. The workshop began a process to build a shared understanding of the online child sexual abuse material (CSEA) data ecosystem and identify future opportunities and an initial list of areas for improvement; inform the creation of a shared narrative on the nature and scale of CSEA and the importance of child online safety as part of efforts to raise the profile of the issue across stakeholders; and explore strategic partnerships and joint efforts around online CSEA data architecture. 

The briefing note recognises funding and capacity constraints, legal barriers and the need for greater political will as challenges to more robust data infrastructure and effective data collection, analysis and use. Participants at the technical workshop stressed an urgent need to improve transparency, responsible data use and investments in data, and identified key focus areas around which efforts can begin to be coordinated including Evidence, Language, Systems, Advocacy, and Networks.  

As a next step, End Violence’s Safe Online Initiative will continue convening this community of committed partners and will expand participation in line with the key takeaways from the workshop. Safe Online will also commission a more in-depth landscape analysis of the online CSEA data ecosystem to outline a clear roadmap for joint action. 

                    Read the Data for Change brief here: