Japanese company Smartbooks Inc. has collaborated with Fujita Medical University in Aichi Prefecture and the Nakamura Police Station to develop an application that automatically removes nude photos from children's phones. The measure is designed to protect them from pedophiles who seek out victims on the Internet and ask for photos.
An artificial intelligence-based algorithm is able to recognize the presence of nudity in a photo. Once detected, the photo is deleted and parents or guardians are notified.
The application is currently in beta testing. Once the app is downloaded to the child's phone, parents only need to authorize access to the photo. Smartbooks is also working on a feature that will prevent children from uninstalling the app on their own.
Smartbooks co-founder Naoto Tomita hopes to make the app available to the public for free by the end of the year. The company has not yet chosen a name for the service; a tentative version is Kodomamo, a combination of the Japanese words "child" and "protection."
The problem of child sexual abuse has become especially acute during the pandemic as children spend more time online, exacerbating the risks.
