Brussels, 12/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Wednesday 11 March, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the member states for “further efforts to investigate online child sexual abuse, prosecute offenders, protect child victims and remove illegal online content”.
More than 80% of the victims are under 10 years old, stressed the members of the European Parliament, who adopted this resolution by 606 votes in favour, 67 against and 4 abstentions. “To combat the sexual exploitation of children and child abuse images, a comprehensive approach is needed, embracing the investigation of offences, the prosecution of offenders, the protection of child victims and preventative measures”, the EP argues. Amongst other things, it calls for all illegal content to be rapidly removed and reported to the law enforcement authorities. “Europol and national law enforcement authorities should be given the necessary funds, human resources, investigative powers and technical capabilities to seriously and effectively pursue, investigate and prosecute the offenders. New high-tech capabilities should be developed to meet the challenges of analysing vast amounts of child abuse imagery, including material hidden on the 'dark web'”, the MEPs continue. Additionally, children's online personal data must be “duly protected, and they should be informed in an easy and child-friendly way of the risks and consequences of using their data online”. The ongoing data protection reform includes specific articles for minors. Lastly, the member states which have not yet transposed the 2011 directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography into their national laws are urged to do so (and over half have yet to implement it in full, the MEPs note). (Solenn Paulic)