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The AFP’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has been chosen to lead the 15-nation Virtual Global Taskforce.
The Australian Federal Police’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) has been chosen to lead the 15-nation Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) – a global alliance of 15 law enforcement agencies focused on fighting child sexual abuse.
The ACCCE will take over as chair of the VGT in November 2024, an appointment that will last three years, following a meeting of the taskforce’s board of management in Brisbane this week.
The meeting was attended by representatives of law enforcement agencies from representatives from the US, Canada, New Zealand, Columbia, New Zealand, Kenya, Philippines, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Australian eSafety Commissioner, alongside non-government organisations such as the International Justice Mission and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
On the agenda was how to combat the “rising scourge” of child sexual exploitation online, such as sextortion targeting children, as well as the dangers of artificial intelligence-generated child abuse material. Also discussed were the challenges of educating children and their carers and establishing strategies for prevention.
According to AFP Commander Helen Schneider, this global problem requires a global response.
“Online child abuse is an issue which is growing in scale and complexity as technology advances,” Commander Schneider said in a statement.
“Taking over as chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce shows that the AFP is a world leader in the fight to protect children online.”
Wendy Hart, National Crime Agency (NCA) deputy director and VGT co-chair, said 2024 was a big year – it marked the 20th anniversary of the VGT’s first meeting in 2004 in Northern Ireland.
“It’s timely to reflect on the last 20 years and see how our lives have changed with online technology and with social media,” Hart said.
“The landscape of tech changes are so broad that it is going to be a team effort to keep across them in future.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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