The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has welcomed an
acknowledgement by MPs that it needs more funding.
Harmful
Content on the Internet and in Video Games, a report released by the
Department of Culture, Media and Sports Committee yesterday, said that funding
levels for CEOP were “not keeping pace with the increasing volume of work” it
carries out.
The
child protection agency, which is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime
Agency (SOCA), also said that the committee's call for a ‘report abuse’ button
echoed what young people themselves want.
Delegates at last month's International Youth Advisory Congress (IYAC) on
safety and security on the internet called for this feature to be made mandatory
on browsers and social networking websites.
CEOP said it particularly welcomed the realisation that there is a need to
improve the level of protection on these sites through a one-click facility for
reporting abuses directly to law enforcement and support organisations.
Earlier this year, CEOP’s chief executive, Jim Gamble, said: “Very few people
are doing enough. Those people who have in place a mechanism for reporting abuse
where danger manifests itself are doing a good job and the right thing.
“I believe that we should be able to come to some form of accommodation with
them and I hope it is much sooner rather than later. We have the frustrating
position where people say they need to talk and engage and we do, but we can
talk only for so long and then we need to see action and not words”.
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