Five Country Ministerial Statement on Countering the Illicit Use of Online Spaces

Five Country Ministerial Statement on Countering the Illicit Use of Online Spaces reiterated the commitment of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States to protect their citizens from child predators, terrorists, violent extremists and other illicit actors. The Statement calls for escalated government and industry efforts to stop sexual exploitation of children, including live-streaming of child sexual abuse on all platforms. The five countries stressed that digital industry must take responsibility to reduce the availability of online terrorist and violent extremist content across all platforms and applications, and urged industry leaders to champion more rapid responses. The countries committed to building their capacity to protect and defend the most vulnerable by enhancing information exchange, strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, share enforcement capabilities with industry to support solutions. A senior officials group which will monitor industry progress and report on them will be established.