New hotline to make reporting child pornography on chat services easier

The Dutch expertise center on online child abuse EOKM launched a new hotline to make it easier to report child pornography encountered in chat services like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram and Signal. People who spot anything that may be child pornography can forward the images to the hotline via the same chat services by sending it to the number +31 (0)6 428 346 35, ANP reports.

The expertise center received more and more reports that child pornography is circulating in chat apps, especially among school children. For that reason EOKM, the organization that is also behind the Child Pornography Hotline, created this special telephone number for this new chat reporting point.

People who report suspicious images through the chat service can do so anonymously. The reporting center can contact a reporter once to ask questions. After that, the center can ask whether the reporter's data can be retained, but the reporter will have to give written permission for this.

If the reported images turn out to indeed involve child abuse, they will be sent to the police.