The sexual politics of technology industry responses to online child sexual exploitation during COVID-19: "This pernicious elitism".

BACKGROUND

Increasing rates of online child sexual exploitation further spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time of disrupted child protection capacity. While the technology industry is central to coordinated efforts to prevent online abuse and remove harmful content, it is largely exempt from formal child protection obligations.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the response of the technology industry to online child sexual exploitation during COVID-19 from the perspective of anti-exploitation professionals.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

An international sample of fifteen anti-exploitation professionals were interviewed as part of a larger study on the impacts of COVID-19 on online child sexual exploitation.

METHODS

Interviews were coded based on a template analysis with a focus on interactions with the technology sector during COVID-19.

RESULTS

Major themes arising from the analysis were 1) the burden of online safety work on victims and services, 2) the lack of prioritisation of online child protection by technology companies during COVID-19 and 3) the complicity of the technology industry with the online sexploitation of children.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of the views of anti-exploitation professionals highlights the alignment between the economic interests of the technology sector and the sexual interests of online child abusers in the absence of government oversight. A framework of sexual politics highlights the gendered nature this alignment and emphasises the need for regulatory intervention, harm minimisation and the restructuring of the online environment and technology sector in the interests of child safety.