US seeks to hold tech firms accountable for abuse imagery

NEW YORK — Legislation announced Thursday aimed at curbing the spread of online child sexual abuse imagery would take the extraordinary step of removing legal protections for tech companies that fail to police the illegal content.

A separate, international initiative that was also announced takes a softer approach, getting the industry to voluntarily embrace standards for combating the material.

The two measures come as tech companies continue to detect an explosion of abusive content on their platforms and amid complaints that neither Congress nor the companies have been aggressive enough in stopping its spread.

Multiple U.S. agencies, together with the governments of Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, released a set of voluntary guidelines on how platforms can stop the spread of online child sexual abuse material, commonly referred to as child pornography.

Those recommendations were developed in conjunction with a halfdozen tech companies:

Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Roblox, Snap and Twitter.

The bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., likewise calls for industry standards and creates a strong incentive for companies to adopt them.

Last year, tech companies reported nearly 70 million images and videos related to online child exploitation. They are obligated to report the material when they become aware of it on their platforms, but they are not required to go looking for it.