Tether has begun a partnership with the international network INHOPE to fight child abuse content marketplaces.

About INHOPE

INHOPE is an international organization that operates a network of hotlines for reporting illegal online content, such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and hate speech. The organization’s mission is to make the internet a safer place by providing a means for people to report illegal online content and assist law enforcement in the investigation and removal of such content. INHOPE also provides training and support to its member hotlines and works to raise awareness about internet safety issues.

Tether and INHOPE set to combat marketplaces using child abuse content

The collaboration will help Tether to boost the transparency and assuage crypto payment measures used on child abuse material marketplaces. Tether and INHOPE will work together to exchange information, join forces with their allies, and implement corrective measures on guilty parties in the crypto world.

A major goal of this partnership is to create a standard procedure that active players in the crypto industry can use to pick out and turn in these bad marketplaces dealing with child sexual abuse material.

According to a statement made by the chief technology officer of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, the stablecoin operator has brought law enforcement agencies, lawmakers, financial intelligence teams, and other standard-making bodies into the loop. Hence, they will be able to create a practical and realistic set of risk-damping methods.

The head of global partnerships at INHOPE, Samantha Woolfe, also made a statement:

“Cryptocurrency exchange companies, hotlines, and law enforcement need to seek more solutions to fight CSAM by sharing critical information and actionable intelligence with increased efficiency.”

Child abuse content marketplaces need to be checked

It is concerning that some cryptocurrency marketplaces may be facilitating the trade of child abuse material (CAM). Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, can be used to facilitate illegal activities because they provide a high degree of anonymity and can be easily exchanged across borders without the need for a centralized intermediary.

Law enforcement agencies and organizations that combat the distribution of CAM have developed methods to trace and identify individuals involved in the trade of CAM using cryptocurrency.

In 2019, Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) of Europol and FBI, with the help of Dutch National Police, were able to track down and arrest the administrator of a child abuse website that was using Bitcoin to sell access to its content.

A year later, the US authorities arrested the administrator of a child pornography site that was using Monero for transactions. The authorities were able to track down the suspect by using blockchain analysis tools.

CAM is illegal and it’s very important to report it to the appropriate authorities. It is important for law enforcement agencies and regulators to work together with cryptocurrency exchanges and other industry participants to combat the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities, including the trade of CAM.