Check-in and access this session from the IGF Schedule.

IGF 2024 WS #95 Solving the problem of sexual coercion and extortion online

    Organizer 1: Michal Maranda, NASK-PIB
    Organizer 2: Katarzyna Staciwa, 🔒National Research Institute in Poland
    Organizer 3: Aleksandra Osuch, NASK-PIB
    Organizer 4: Krzysztof Hanusz, NASK-PIB

    Speaker 1: Lauren Coffren, Intergovernmental Organization, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
    Speaker 2: Alejandra Mariscal Lopez, Intergovernmental Organization, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
    Speaker 3: Juliet Ohahuru-Obiora, Civil Society, African Group
    Speaker 4: Katarzyna Staciwa, Technical Community, Eastern European Group
    Speaker 5: Sigurdur Ragnarsson, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

    Moderator

    Aleksandra Osuch, Government, Eastern European Group

    Online Moderator

    Michal Maranda, Technical Community, Eastern European Group

    Rapporteur

    Krzysztof Hanusz, Government, Eastern European Group

    Format

    Roundtable
    Duration (minutes): 90
    Format description: 90 minutes is enough time for each presenter to give a 15-minute presentation followed by a short discussion. The presentation part will be followed by a workshop discussion lasting approximately 30 minutes. The round table favors maintaining eye contact and exchanging thoughts and views between participants.

    Policy Question(s)

    1. What are the significant differences in the national approaches to the problem of sexual coercion and extortion that make it difficult to effectively combat the phenomenon?
    2. What specific regulations could be most effective in preventing and combating the sexual coercion and extortion? Is it possible to develop a set of good practices at the global scale?
    3. Are children and teenagers, as potential victims, sufficiently present in the discourse on the sexual coercion and extortion? How can their presence be strengthened in the discussion on solutions to the problem?

    What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants will gain knowledge about the phenomenon of sexual coercion and extortion, its causes and consequences. The issue of the difference between intimate content and illegal content depicting sexual exploitation will be discussed. Participants will learn about tools for removing intimate content from the Internet and their specific operation based on the hash values (digital fingerprints of the file). Thanks to this, they will be able to pass on information about an effective method of dealing with the distribution of non-consensual intimate content. Additionally, the discussion may contribute to the emergence of new ideas for dealing with the problem.

    Description:

    The workshops will be held with a diverse group of presenters including: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (USA), Point de Contact (France), ACSAI Nigeria, Videntifier (Iceland) and NASK Dyżurnet.pl (Poland).
    One of the most serious current online threats to which children, teenagers and young Internet users are exposed is sexual coercion and extortion. The phenomenon combines negative aspects such as seduction, recording and distributing intimate content without consent, formulating threats and inducing a sense of threat towards the victim. Many perpetrators establish contact with the victim by pretending to be his or her peer. Then he either extorts an intimate photo he took himself or persuades the victim to participate in a video chat during which he records intimate content without the victim's consent. After obtaining the intimate content, the perpetrators blackmail the victim in order to obtain further content or financial benefits. Otherwise, the perpetrators threaten to publish the victim's intimate content. As a response to this phenomenon, innovative solutions have recently emerged that allow users to report their intimate content for removal from online platforms. During this session, we will host representatives of various services dealing with this problem. They will present the specifics of sexual coercion and extortion they encounter in their country and the concepts of tools they have developed in the fight against this phenomenon.

    Expected Outcomes

    The report from the workshop will be distributed among participating entities, and the conclusions will be forwarded to the INHOPE network of response teams from 55 countries around the world.

    Hybrid Format: The session will be conducted simultaneously with an online broadcast in which participants will participate remotely. After each 15-minute presentation, there will be a designated time to ask questions, both for onsite and online participants. The presentations will be followed by a workshop part intended to exchange comments, opinions and new ideas regarding the discussed problem.