Making the Internet safer together!

The fight against the online sexual abuse of minors is one of the greatest challenges of this century. Illegally shared images and videos sometimes circulate on the Internet for years, meaning victims are continuously re-victimised. The purpose behind the Instant Image Identifier, formerly known as the Hash Check Service, is to increase the speed with which online CSAM can be detected and removed from the internet.

How the Instant Image Identifier works

The Instant Image Identifier transforms any image or video into a hash, which is the digital fingerprint of a file in the form of a code, to the central database of known child sexual abuse material. The user receives an answer as to whether this hash occurs on lists of hashes provided by e.g. the Dutch National Police. This service is provided through an HTTP based API. To provide this check functionality, the service interfaces with a database hosted by EOKM and provided by the Dutch Police and others. The Instant Image Identifier is a service offered by EOKM and Web-IQ.

The Instant Image Identifier is:

Free of charge
License-free
Privacy friendly
Easy to use and check suspect material against known CSAM
Unique due its validated hash lists from the Dutch National Police

Project information

The Instant Image Identifier, formerly known as the Hash Check Service, is presented in the context of the Swift Removal of CSAM (child sexual abuse material) project, an initiative of the European Commission coordinated by PwC EU Services together with the Expertisebureau Online Kindermisbruik (EOKM; the Dutch INHOPE hotline), Web-IQ and ESN.

The objective is to foster a greater degree of coordination between the private sector, hotlines, law enforcement, and other stakeholders operating within the CSAM field and facilitate the voluntary participation of the private sector in detection and removal initiatives.

The project aims to build a solid foundation against CSAM by collecting hash databases and making them accessible to all parties involved in the fight against CSAM. The project started in March 2021 and it is expected to end in August 2022.

EU Project
EU-funded initiative

More information

Would you like to learn more about the Instant Image Identifier or our other related work in fighting CSAM? Please contact us for more information or visit the project website.

Contact us Visit project website