Social media firms relying on AI for moderation generate unviable reports which hamper authorities from investigating cases…
Full story: Revealed: US police prevented from viewing many online child sexual abuse reports, lawyers say
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Appalachian State University
The use of AI algorithms on social media platforms has undoubtedly helped in flagging more content deemed as sexually exploitative; after all, a program will be able to scrub through much more content than human eyes. However, when an AI flags these profiles or posts rather than a human being, law enforcement agencies are unable to access the files or open investigations without serving a warrant or having them first reviewed by the company. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to finally gain access to one of these profiles, only to have it completely wiped of evidence due to how long the process took. This leads me to question, is the implementation of AI a net positive in identifying and reducing sexual exploitation of children, or just another barrier for opening investigations and taking actionable steps in making our communities safer?
Regarding AI and law enforcement’s digital rights, there are plenty of implications that are involved. The digital world is quite different from the real one, and despite the internet being in widespread use for much of the 21st century, it is still a concept we are pioneers in. It is ever changing, and legally, it often remains a grey area. Companies like Instagram or X (twitter) can largely remain independent and choose what they are willing to show censorship wise with some caveats. When it comes to these types of media and their use for investigation, these companies are not always eager to reply, citing issues with their client’s rights to privacy. Above all, some reforms will likely be put into place over the next few years, and hopefully a healthy balance will be established.