Tele2 and other operators are trying to prevent their customers from accessing sites where images and videos of child sexual abuse are distributed. Tele2 receives lists of which sites should be blocked from the police - including Interpol - and other organizations, such as the Canadian organization CP3/Project Arachnid, which works together with Swedish ECPAT to stop child abuse.
Child pornography offenses
More and more attempts to access sites with child abuse images are being stopped. It is difficult to say what the increase is due to, but, according to Tele2's Group Security Manager, Jonas Lindström, it is not synonymous with an increase in the number of abuse cases.
According to him, one of the explanations is that the police and other actors have become better at updating their block lists.
The vast majority of attempts to access the sites have been made by Swedish users, but some have come from Tele2 customers in the Baltics. When someone tries to access a blocked site, the person is redirected to information from the police, which states, among other things, that possessing and distributing abuse material constitutes a child pornography offense. The person also receives information about where to turn if they are worried about their sexuality and are afraid of harming others.
Want to do more
In the coming year, Jonas Lindström hopes for even better cooperation - with more organizations and across borders. Abuse material made with the help of AI is a growing problem and material published on the darknet is difficult to access. The operators are not required by law to block the sites, but there is an expectation that they will, according to Jonas Lindström.
"We are keen to take our social responsibility as an internet provider. The ambition is to limit the exposure of vulnerable children, protect our customers from being exposed to this, and prevent those who try to access the material," he says.
Corrected: In a previous version, there was an incorrect statement about the increase in stopped attempts.
