Diplomatic Council members and partners show a new app to give children a secure environment at their smartphone. The Safetonet app is presented at the annual session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna.

The Internet has changed our lives dramatically.

Now we communicate differently, we inform differently, we buy differently. Completely new businesses have been created, new companies and thousands of jobs. But the Internet has also changed the crime: not only we have with a few clicks access to the whole world – the world gets access to our home – and to our children.

The Diplomatic Council with its initiative “Safer Internet for Children” is a part of the WhiteIT network. WhiteIT is an unique worldwide alliance of different parties from politics, administration, economy and society. WhiteIT’s goal is protecting children from these dangers, to avoid abuse and to combat its representation in the digital world.

Prevention

Children and their families should recognize and learn how to protect themselves. Adults with a pedophilic disorder should realize that they need help and those obtained in good time before they commit criminal acts.

Law enforcement

Together with the relevant authorities, we find ways to accelerate an effective, transnational criminal prosecution. At the same time we use the possibilities of modern information technology, to convict criminals effectively.

Victim Support

Victims and their families are the necessary assistance and support received to cope with the consequences of misuse.

The fundamental problem is that there is no authority or governance on the social web.

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That’s why Safetonet exists. It is an AI solution that uses big data analytics to identify and block harmful content in real time. This includes keyboard filtering, image analytics and a safety indicator. It is an award-winning online child safety app that can safeguard children online, filter unwanted content, block unsuitable mobile apps and help parents moderate excessive mobile screen time without spying.It uses artificial intelligence to tackle key online threats such as cyberbullying, sextortion, grooming, online abuse, and aggression. It also educates both parents and children alike on real-time issues and gives previously unforeseen insights into a child’s online behaviour patterns and risks without spying or snooping.

The Diplomatic Council nearly immediately after it was founded established a Safer Internet for Children Initiative with the intention to fight against the dissemination of child pornography. Diplomatic Council Commissioner for UN Affairs Thorsten Nowak introduced this initiative  to the United Nations at Vienna already in 2016. We presented the "Child Abuse Prevention System“ software developed by the Diplomatic Council making a significant contribution to supporting governmental authorities in their work to identify child pornographic material and stop the digital dissemination thereof. It serves to prevent this type of crime and the abuse of children. CAPS is based on pattern recognition for the identification of structures and connections.

Saving children from a cruel fate 

For example: If illegal photographic material is found, CAPS is capable of finding out whether further – maybe harmless – pictures or videos were made with the same camera. A picture showing a car with a license plate may be disseminated – the offender believes it to be harmless because he does not know that through the identification of his camera, connections are established between totally different pictures”. This example is not entirely invented but has already helped catching offenders and preventing children from a cruel fate.

„Don’t just talk but act!“

”We do not wish to talk only but we want to take concrete actions in order to help affected people” says Secretary General Hang Nguyen.

In addition to identifying child pornographic material, the CAPS software is also capable of finding other illegal data streams. The automatic pattern recognition can be utilized to combat human trafficking, money laundering, drug dealing, weapon smuggling and further types of organized crime which are mainly committed in a digital way.