Interpol database ICSE: CBI's new weapon to fight online sexual abuse of children

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 11, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

According to Interpol, the database helps detectives avoid wasting time and effort by letting them know if a set of photographs has already been found or identified in another nation or if it shares characteristics with other images. color:black;mso-themecolor:text1">

Digital Desk: In order to improve its ability to identify
abusers, victims, and crime scenes from audiovisual clips on the Internet using
specialised software, the CBI has joined Interpol's International Child Sexual
Exploitation database, which is accessible to only some countries. As a result,
officials announced on Monday, the investigative agency now has sharper
snooping capabilities.

The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI), which serves as the nation's National Central Bureau and
is the focal agency for Interpol coordination in India, is the 68th of
Interpol's 295 total members to have access to this database and software.

color:black">As an intelligence and investigative tool, the database, which
uses audiovisual footage submitted by numerous sources, including social media
behemoths and search engines, helps locate seven child victims on average every
day throughout the world. It has so far located more than 30,000 abused
children and more than 13,000 perpetrators.

The International Child
Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database analyses child sexual exploitation material
(CSEM) and draws linkages between victims, perpetrators, and locations using
video and image comparison, according to Interpol. Additionally, the database
enables specialised investigators to exchange data on incidents of child sexual
abuse.

By identifying the
victims and the scene of the crime, the investigators can use image and video
comparison technologies to track down the culprits. According to Interpol, the
database helps detectives avoid wasting time and effort by letting them know if
a set of photographs has already been found or identified in another nation or
if it shares characteristics with other images.

The 68 member countries
of the grouping's detectives have the ability to share notes and information
with one another. According to the Interpol website, "victim
identification experts can retrieve evidence, identify any overlap in cases,
and combine their efforts to locate victims of child sexual assault by
assessing the digital, visual, and aural content of images and videos."
According to Interpol data, India recorded over 24 lakh instances of online
child sexual abuse during the three-year period 2017–20, with 80% of the
victims being girls under the age of 14.

With one report stating
that 1.16 lakh requests on child pornography were performed on a single
internet search engine, the data shows that both the content and users of CSEM
are rising at a rapid rate. Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation
Prevention/Investigation (OCSAE), a special division of the CBI, keeps tabs on
the distribution, uploading, and downloading of CSEM on the internet.

According to officials, the CBI launched a nationwide operation
against the purported sellers of online CSEM in India last year on the basis of
intelligence gathered by the unit. Several websites were investigated for their
potential roles in hosting such material. The investigation agency conducted
searches at 77 places during its big sweep in 14 states last year, which began
on November 14-Children's Day-and resulted in the arrest of seven people.

According to them, a massive amount of electronic
data and devices demonstrating patterns of money trails and the involvement of
many offenders were seized as a consequence of the search operation on the 83
accused. This provided the agency with new leads that are currently being
followed. The operation had more than 50 social media groups as its targets,
with over 5,000 alleged offenders sharing child sex abuse materials with some
accused in Pakistan, Canada, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Sri
Lanka, the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, the United
Kingdom, Belgium, Ghana, among other countries.