Potential sex offenders reported online via CEOP & Microsoft partnership

The move sees the incorporation of a new Messenger tab and features the CEOP Centre's distinctive "report abuse" icon which links users in the UK directly to online police services. This allows young people and adults to report suspicious behaviour and instances of inappropriate contact of a sexual nature they have encountered whilst chatting in this virtual environment.

Millions of young people in the UK who use Windows Live Messenger or MSN Messenger to chat online with friends are now just one click away from making a report to police if they are concerned their online 'buddy' is a sex offender.

And the service doesn't end there. Through the icon and link to the CEOP web site, users from anywhere in the world can access the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) - an international alliance of law enforcement agencies - of which the CEOP Centre is the UK's representative.

The CEOP Centre is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and powers are derived from the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. It is based in Pimlico, London with developing outreach channels to all areas of both domestic and international policing as well as industry and specialist support and educational faculties.

The tab will appear on both MSN Messenger, and its replacement, Windows Live Messenger. As well as a 'one click' link through to a report to the police, each week, CEOP and Microsoft will provide a new safety tip as part of the tab, for example, how to safeguard your personal details or to how to spot a potential threat.

Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the CEOP Centre and Chair of the VGT takes up the story.
"What Microsoft and the CEOP are doing today is saying is 'enough is enough'. By working together in a very clear and tangible way we can safeguard children from online sexual predators.

"Behind the report abuse button will sit police and intelligence officers who have been specially trained to tackle child sex abuse. We will tell you how to capture information and how to seize online discussions and then proactively do all we can to track down the perpetrator.

"But there is a lot more to this. CEOP is an integral part of the VGT and therefore by working with MSN in this way we are offering users access to a global police response. If you make a report as a UK citizen then we at CEOP will investigate. If you make a report as a user from other countries then our counterparts in the US, Australia, Canada or Interpol will take the matter further. That is a truly global response to a worldwide issue."

Carrie Bogner, Senior Director, Citizenship, Windows Live said; "We take the safety and security of young people online very seriously. People can already control who they do and don't allow onto their Messenger buddy list - the new CEOP tab launched today is another safety feature that will make Windows Live and MSN Messenger safer still.

"What we are doing here is true partnership in action. As a global industry partner of the CEOP Centre and the VGT we can bring our understanding of the global nature of the internet and online communications with the knowledge and experiences of law enforcement to better protect children in our online space."

The Virtual Global Taskforce icon is now linked to over 4,000 websites across the internet and is an international alliance of law enforcement agencies consisting of: The Australian Federal Police; US Dept for Homeland Security; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the UKs Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Interpol.

The Virtual Global Taskforces works to make the internet a safer place for children and young people

Related links to this article:
Child Exploitation and Online Protection
Microsoft
Virtual Global Taskforce

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