THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state police will join hands with Project VIC, a US-based non-profit organisation, to identify victims of child pornography. The decision to collaborate with the US body was taken after the flash raid last week resulted in seizure of a large quantity of obscene videos of children, including those of locals. Victim identification is a major step towards fighting the menace of child pornography as well as enabling the rescue of the children.
ADGP Manoj Abraham, nodal officer, Cyberdome, said the department has already held an online meeting with Project VIC representatives and that collaborating with the international body will provide technical help to tackle the menace. “They have cutting-edge technology -- both hardware and software -- and by collaborating with them we will be able to make use of that,” Manoj Abraham said.
Project VIC has got leading enforcement agencies and private firms as partners and they are spearheading the victim identification programmes. The facial identification software and other artificial intelligence-powered tools employed by the US-based watchdog body can help agencies track down victims and ensure their security. According to the ADGP, identifying the victims is crucial since it can lead to the sexual predators. “Project VIC has got huge infrastructure and using that we can make headway in the probe,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police will set up a task force to identify the victims from the state. Handpicked officers will be entrusted the charge and their functioning will in some ways hinge on the inputs from international agencies, including Project VIC. The police on their part are also likely to start crowdsourcing information to identify the victims.