Google Builds Software Tools to Help Find Child Victims

ALEXANDRIA, Va.- Today, Google Inc. (GOOG) announced a partnership to provide the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) with software tailored to help automate and streamline the technical assistance they provide to child pornography investigations.

Technology plays a central role in the success of NCMEC's efforts to combat child pornography. Working in cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies, analysts with NCMEC's Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP) have reviewed more than 13 million child pornography images and videos to identify and rescue children. To help improve this overwhelming process, a team of Google engineers led by Dr. Shumeet Baluja created innovative software tools to help NCMEC track down child predators and victims of child exploitation through video and image search.

"Criminals are using cutting edge technology to commit their crimes of child sexual exploitation, and in fighting to solve those crimes and keep children safe, we must do the same," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. "That is why we are so grateful to Google for providing new tools that will enable the National Center to better serve law enforcement in battling exploitation and rescuing children."

The Google technology will enable NCMEC analysts to more quickly and easily search NCMEC's systems to sort and identify files that contain images of child pornography victims. New video tools from Google will streamline analysts' review of video snippets from files seized in child pornography cases. Comparing these images and videos through an automated process enabled by custom-built Google technology has a real potential to assist law enforcement in child pornography investigations.

"At Google, we are focused on creating innovative technology to organize information and have expertise in computer processing of images," said Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Research at Google. "The tools we've built for NCMEC will allow its analysts to more efficiently and accurately manage the task of sifting through the videos and images they have collected."

In August 2006, Google joined the Technology Coalition and the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography, industry initiatives launched by NCMEC and its sister agency, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, to develop solutions that disrupt the ability of predators to use the Internet to exploit children or traffic in child pornography. Google has also donated a Google Search Appliance, Google Earth Enterprise, and in-kind advertising through Google Grants to further support NCMEC's programs and mission.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 570,000 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 140,900 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 124,500 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Google Blog Post


Contact Us Privacy Policy Site Search Terms of Use
Copyright © 2010 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. All rights reserved.