GRACE

The sexual exploitation and abuse of children, the production of CSEM and subsequent distribution of this material via the internet is a shocking crime. Referrals from Online Service Providers (OSPs) are crucial to fighting CSE. Growth in the number of referrals of CSEM to LEAs is driven both by increased availability and distribution of online CSEM and improved detection and reporting processes. The extent of referrals is affecting LEAs' capacity to respond promptly, leading to an inability to prevent harm to infants and children, rescue those in immediate danger, and investigate and prosecute perpetrators.

GRACE will leverage resources already in place at Europol and the nine MS LEAs within the consortium. The goal for GRACE is to attempt to provide results early, frequently and flexibly, prioritising easy wins in the research plan (e.g., deduplication).

Unique to GRACE is the development and application of a Federated Learning approach to the challenge of optimising analysis and information flow in a privacy-aware and security-sensitive manner. GRACE will enable cooperation between LEAs in improving their capabilities while harnessing their experiential knowledge.

The results of GRACE will be available to Europol and the Member State LEAs for unrestricted use in their operations, helping to ensure their future technological autonomy.

The GRACE consortium brings together a set of organisations with the expertise to address the topic of online child sexual exploitation. The project responds to the EC H2020 call SU-FCT-02-2019 [Sub Topic 2: Digital forensics in the context of criminal investigations].