Microsoft Introduces Warning On Child Abuse Image Searches To "Bing" Search Engine

Microsoft Introduces Pop-Up Warning On Child Abuse Image Searches To "Bing" Search Engine

Anyone in the UK who uses Microsoft's Bing search engine to seek out images depicting child abuse will now be greeted with a pop-up warning informing them their activities are illegal.The notification, which is the first of its kind in the UK, will also provide links to 'help and advice' services, for those who may be drifting towards such content, courtesy of the StopItNow.org counselling group.Microsoft's Bing search engine has become the first service in the UK to introduce measures warning users who request online images of child abuse. BBC News reports that Bing users will now see pop-up notices if they search for indecent images of children, warning them that the content is illegal and linking to details of a counselling service. The move comes shortly after the UK government announced its bold and controversial plan to crack down on online pornography, which will require UK internet users to opt-in to view porn content later this year.

Microsoft's Bing search engine has become the first service in the UK to introduce measures warning users who request online images of child abuse

Microsoft said the notifications are designed "to stop those who may be drifting towards trying to find illegal child abuse content on the web via search engines".A spokesman said: "This is in addition to Microsoft's existing and longstanding policy of removing any verified links to illegal content of this sort from Bing as quickly as possible."Microsoft has been, and remains, a strong proponent of proactive action in reasonable and scalable ways by the technology industry in the fight against technology-facilitated child exploitation. We have teams dedicated globally to abuse reporting on our services and the development of new innovations to combat child exploitation more broadly."Last week, Prime Minister David Cameron warned internet companies that they needed to do more to stop the proliferation of child abuse imagery or face legal sanctions. Cameron's adviser Claire Perry MP today called on the Church of England to withdraw its investment from Google in order to help pressurise the company to block child abuse images.Although Bing holds 4.99% of the search engine market and Google holds a massive 88.3% share, Microsoft's move places Google under increasing pressure to follow suit and introduce more pro-active anti-child abuse measures.Cameron also wants search engine giants to install a 'porn filter', compelling users to 'opt in' to access online adult material following concerns that children are able to access pornography too easily.

 Pop-Up Warning On Child Abuse Image Searches To "Bing" Search Engine

New figures obtained by the Guardian show the enormous popularity of the online pornography market, with 8.5% of all internet traffic in the country comprising clicks to legal pornography, with only search engines and arts and entertainment sites such as YouTube proving more popular.

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Write by: RC - Monday, July 29, 2013