Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with technology and social medias companies on the use of the prototypes for detecting grooming that were developed at the Microsoft Hackathon.

On 7-8 November the Home Secretary co-hosted a Hackathon with Microsoft, at which leading companies worked to develop a prototype tool to detect online grooming to be provided licence-free to small and medium companies worldwide. The Home Secretary also visited US-based social networks and other technology companies to urge them to promote the use of the new prototype and to encourage further action to tackle sexual abuse of children online.

Some progress has already been made, including the adoption of tools to identify new child abuse imagery, publication of new transparency data capturing action on CSEA. However, the sharing of child abuse imagery, online grooming and livestreaming of abuse remain prevalent and there is more to be done. We will set out plans for tackling online harms, including Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, in the forthcoming Online Harms White Paper. The White Paper will set out clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK citizens safe.