Stockholm regional council: Taking positive action against CSAM to serve a wider purpose

Stockholm Regional Council is responsible for all publicly financed healthcare and public transport in Stockholm County. Its work affects the daily lives of its 44 000 employees and over 2,4 million people in the country’s capital city. With this kind of reach, Irene Svenonius sees her organization as one that can have a profoundly positive effect on people’s lives. This was very much the case a few years ago when the subject of CSAM and how to deal with it came up.

“Within Stockholm Regional Council, we formed a group with the specific aim of identifying ways we could help children. In the course of our work, we came to understand how the Internet can pose such a threat to young people, in particular how it can expose them to the risk of sexual exploitation. At the same time, we found out that there were solutions available that could help in the detection of potentially harmful and criminal material. Obviously, we felt it was our responsibility as an organization to do what we could. So in 2018, we tasked our management team with researching and proposing solutions that could ensure Stockholm Regional Council devices couldn’t be used to view or download CSAM.”

In her own words, this was the starting signal for a process that led to Stockholm Regional Council choosing NetClean as the solution provider they needed to achieve their stated aims. After a period in which the stability, efficiency and usability of the solution was established, NetClean software solutions were rolled out across the organization. Svenonius continues –

“The NetClean system attracted us because it can detect CSAM on an image basis, rather than identifying suspicious or illegal URLs. It also helps us gather evidence and liaise more effectively with law enforcement agencies. In addition, NetClean also helped us develop internal processes to deal with incidents. Today, we have over 40 000 NetClean software licenses.”

While NetClean software is a highly efficient solution for detecting CSAM, it should also be highlighted that the system is designed to be discreet. It allows bodies such as Stockholm Regional Council to act with professionalism and integrity in what are highly sensitive circumstances. Furthermore, as well as being an important part of Stockholm Regional Council’s compliance strategy, taking positive action against CSAM serves a wider purpose in that it can show employees and the public that they can trust the authorities.

However, being seen to do the right thing and actually doing the right thing are two separate issues. Taking action requires commitment. With that in mind, spend time in Svenonius’s company and there is no doubting her passion for improving the lives of children. When asked why she believes the fight against the spread of CSAM is important, she answers without hesitation –

“Every child deserves to have a safe, happy childhood. Sexual abuse of children is one of the most disturbing crimes we have to face as a society, but many forget that behind the image on the computer screen there’s a real person. We know that a lot of kids are at real risk. As we see it, no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Using NetClean software is our expression of this and one way we can make the world a little safer.”

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