Tech firms making large profits must do more to fight this crime

TECHNOLOGY companies must invest more to prevent the distribution and possession of child abuse images, said one of the most senior gardaí.

Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, during the announcement of details surrounding the second phase of Operation Ketch, acknowledged that tech firm do assist gardaí in identifying those in possession of child abuse imagery.

However, he added that more can be done by companies which are making large profits as a result of the internet.

He urged them to invest a sufficient amount to prevent these images being shared where possible.

‘Some of the searches that were undertaken today John O’Driscoll yesterday will have resulted from information provided from those companies, so we are engaged with them, and they provide assistance,’ he said.

‘In this area, if people are engaged in this type of business, are making large sums of money, in that regard I believe it is reasonable to expect that they will ensure they invest a sufficient amount to prevent this type of activity from taking place to the extent that that is possible.’

He said: ‘We clearly would like to see more done and like to see that there would be greater difficulty in accessing material of this nature, that it would be blocked wherever possible.

‘But we are very satisfied that those companies are engaging in a meaningful way with us in terms of notifying us when they observe suspicious activity, and are assisting us in identifying suspects and ensuring that we can engage in operations such as this.’