Emergency fix allows social media companies resume reporting child abuse material

Reports from social media companies about sex abuse material had dropped by 50% since the ePrivacy directive came into effect — but the European Commission has now moved to ensure firms can disclose such activity. Picture: iStock

Social media companies can now continue to lawfully detect and report child sex abuse material after a “temporary solution” was hammered out at EU level to undo the unintended consequences of new privacy laws.

EU justice chiefs said reports from internet companies to police across the union collapsed by over 50% since privacy rules were brought in last December, resulting in hundreds of cases of child abuse imagery “going unnoticed” every day.