Tech Giants Launch Lantern Program to Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation

"Lantern", Led by the Tech Coalition and Involving Companies Like Meta and Google, will Enable the Development of a Central Database to Track and Take Action Against Child Sexual Exploitation Across Multiple Platforms.

The Lantern program, initiated by the Tech Coalition which includes companies such as Meta and Google, aims to combat online child sexual exploitation. The program will involve sharing alert signals of such activity that violate respective companies' policies, allowing faster detection and subsequent action.
Lantern will establish a central database to monitor signals of inappropriate practices against children across multiple platforms. This collation of data enables a more comprehensive understanding of criminal behavior, given the cross-platform nature of many of these abuses.
Meta, during the pilot phase of Lantern, made use of information shared by a partner to remove over 10,000 violating Facebook profiles, pages, and Instagram accounts, reporting them to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Tech Coalition underscores that the signals shared on Lantern are not definitive proof of abuse but potentially point to it, necessitating further investigation. The coalition will oversee the program, ensuring that it adheres to legal and regulatory requirements and is ethically compliant.
Aside from Meta and Google, the companies currently participating in Lantern include Discord, Mega, Quora, Roblox, Snap, and Twitch. The Tech Coalition plans to expand the program's coverage by encouraging additional participants in the future.