Session
Organizer 1: Dhanaraj Thakur, Center for Democracy & Technology
Organizer 2: Bhatia Aliya, Center for Democracy & Technology
Organizer 3: DeVan Hankerson, Center for Democracy and Technology
Organizer 2: Bhatia Aliya, Center for Democracy & Technology
Organizer 3: DeVan Hankerson, Center for Democracy and Technology
Speaker 1: Dhanaraj Thakur, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 2: Jen Persson, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Sabine Witting, Technical Community, African Group
Speaker 4: Lauren Tharp, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 5: Colm Gannon, Private Sector, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: Jen Persson, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Sabine Witting, Technical Community, African Group
Speaker 4: Lauren Tharp, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 5: Colm Gannon, Private Sector, Asia-Pacific Group
Moderator
Dhanaraj Thakur, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Online Moderator
Bhatia Aliya, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Rapporteur
DeVan Hankerson, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Format
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: This format allows us to engage participants on issues related to livestreaming and addressing CSEA. With a round-table format we can encourage equitable participation from everyone including the speakers. Also, by limiting the amount of time speakers have for the initial remarks we can create more time for the group discussion, which will be broken up in the three issues/sections as noted above. This will foster a participatory discussion and help us identify key issues and develop recommendations.
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: This format allows us to engage participants on issues related to livestreaming and addressing CSEA. With a round-table format we can encourage equitable participation from everyone including the speakers. Also, by limiting the amount of time speakers have for the initial remarks we can create more time for the group discussion, which will be broken up in the three issues/sections as noted above. This will foster a participatory discussion and help us identify key issues and develop recommendations.
Policy Question(s)
How can technologies to prevent CSEA on livestreaming platforms be integrated into trust and safety systems in a way that protects and promotes children's rights?
How effective are these tools for children from specific communities (e.g., those that speak certain languages, or from certain cultures, etc)?
How can we promote cross-platform efforts to prevent the spread of CSEA on livestreams?
What will participants gain from attending this session? The session will help participants to gain an understanding of the unique trust and safety challenges that lie at the intersection of livestreaming and CSEA. For example, some approaches we will cover include design based friction or verification measures, AI based content analysis, and analysis of metadata and other behavioral characteristics to flag potential bad actors/content. In addition, participants will understand the perspectives of those working on child safety online and those working on livestreaming to share ideas on the intersecting problem of CSEA in livestreaming. We will consider perspectives from civil society, industry and academia (based on the speaker interventions) such as those working on trust and safety systems including for livestreaming and those working to protect on child rights online including those from civil society. The discussion can inform the work of those working on policies on children's safety online, social media regulation, and AI based regulation.
Description:
Livestreaming is popular, particularly with younger audiences and users. However, it brings significant challenges to content analysis and moderation of user generated content in real-time. A related problem is content related child sexual exploitation and abuse which is present on some livestreaming services. Livestreaming platforms have implemented various technologies (including AI based solutions) to address the problem. In this workshop, we will have a facilitated discussion on the efficacy of these and other tactics when it comes to preventing CSEA on livestreams with a view of protecting children's rights and the rights of other users of these services. The workshop offers an opportunity to bring together discussions on the technical efficacy and human rights risks of technologies used to analyze content on livestreaming services and approaches to promoting children's safety online. We will consider different cultural and geographic contexts drawing on workshop participant perspectives from around the world. The aim is to identify best practices and lessons learned to address this problem. The workshop will start with 3-5 speaker interventions of about 5 mins each, followed by a brief Q&A. They will provide a technical overview of existing measures to address CSEA on livestreams. Other speakers will discuss the limitations and capabilities of these techniques particularly with regard to children's rights. The session will then go to a guided discussion around 3 main issues with both speakers and participants contributing: - What are the limitations and capabilities of technologies to prevent CSEA on livestreams particularly with regard to the privacy, security, safety, and free expression of children? - How can we tackle cross-platform efforts to distribute CSEA related content (e.g., what happens when livestreaming is used as the method to drive users to another platform)? - Are there risks to children from specific communities and how can we address those?
Livestreaming is popular, particularly with younger audiences and users. However, it brings significant challenges to content analysis and moderation of user generated content in real-time. A related problem is content related child sexual exploitation and abuse which is present on some livestreaming services. Livestreaming platforms have implemented various technologies (including AI based solutions) to address the problem. In this workshop, we will have a facilitated discussion on the efficacy of these and other tactics when it comes to preventing CSEA on livestreams with a view of protecting children's rights and the rights of other users of these services. The workshop offers an opportunity to bring together discussions on the technical efficacy and human rights risks of technologies used to analyze content on livestreaming services and approaches to promoting children's safety online. We will consider different cultural and geographic contexts drawing on workshop participant perspectives from around the world. The aim is to identify best practices and lessons learned to address this problem. The workshop will start with 3-5 speaker interventions of about 5 mins each, followed by a brief Q&A. They will provide a technical overview of existing measures to address CSEA on livestreams. Other speakers will discuss the limitations and capabilities of these techniques particularly with regard to children's rights. The session will then go to a guided discussion around 3 main issues with both speakers and participants contributing: - What are the limitations and capabilities of technologies to prevent CSEA on livestreams particularly with regard to the privacy, security, safety, and free expression of children? - How can we tackle cross-platform efforts to distribute CSEA related content (e.g., what happens when livestreaming is used as the method to drive users to another platform)? - Are there risks to children from specific communities and how can we address those?
Expected Outcomes
This workshop has three main expected outcomes:
- Create awareness and knowledge among IGF participants on the limitations and capabilities of technologies to prevent CSEA on livestreaming platforms and how this impacts children's rights and the rights of other users.
- Build a community from the workshop participants who are knowledgeable and aware of the approaches to addressing CSEA on livestreaming platforms around the world.
- Develop a practical set of recommendations for both governments and companies to improve how CSEA is addressed on livestreaming platforms.
A summary of the insights and recommendations raised in the workshop will be produced and published (using a creative commons license) online by the Center for Democracy & Technology by the end of 2025.
Hybrid Format: Online speakers will be able to contribute to the discussion with audio and text initially during the speaker presentations and then throughout the session by raising their virtual hand (a function on zoom or similar platforms). Microphones in the room will allow online speakers and attendees to hear from those in the room. Online attendees can contribute using the chat function, however we may have to limit audio contribution from online attendees depending on the total number of attendees.
We will have two moderators for the sessions. First, the session moderator will chair the session and facilitate the group discussion following speaker presentations. Second, the online moderator will monitor the chat from online attendees and alert the session moderator as needed to highlight questions and comments. The session moderator can then introduce these into the main discussion.