Eurochild calls on the EP to keep children safe online by adopting a Temporary Derogation to the ePrivacy Directive
Reports of child sexual abuse cases dropped by 46% after the European Electronic Communication Code entered into force on 21 December 2020
Eurochild and Missing Children Europe are calling on the European Parliament to put forward a child victim-centred approach in the ePrivacy Directive and to put an end to the impunity of the perpetrators.
The joint letter by H.E Marie-Louise Coleiro-Preca, President of Eurochild and Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, President of Missing Children Europe was sent to MEP Birgit Sippel, the Civil Liberties Committee LIBE, Child Rights Intergroup, and the European Parliament rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs on the Interim Regulation on the detection of child sexual abuse material and grooming online.
A temporary derogation to the ePrivacy Directive would allow service providers to resume using the technological tools to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material and detect and report instances of grooming.
We appreciated the flexibility to incorporate a number of amendments to the original report allowing the European Commission’s proposal for a temporary derogation to go forward with a number of additional safeguards but we are very disappointed that no agreement was reached.
Evidence shows that during the pandemic children spend more time online and as such are even more likely to be victims of child abuse. Every day without an agreement is a risk we take on making children vulnerable to sexual predators online.
We cannot win this battle alone, we need a multi-stakeholder approach, including the private sector.