Google spurns paedophile warning system
Google has opted to reject a paedophile warning system which would flash up cautionary messages to people conducting obscene internet searches that they can be tracked when certain keywords are used.
It follows the decision by search rivals Bing and Yahoo! to automatically flash up warnings in such instances, measures which experts predict could cut by half the volume of traffic directed to such material.
Instead Google insists that its existing methods at tackling the problem are more effective, stoking the ire of child safety campaigners.
The Microsoft backed warning system would flash up a message when specific search terms were enetered, stating: ‘Warning! Child abuse material is illegal,’ alongside a link to counseling advice.
Commenting on the plan John Carr, a government adviser on online child safety, said: “The splash pages will not stop determined paedophiles but while they are very dangerous, they are a small number.
“These messages will warn off a larger number of men who are interested in these pages and stop them in their tracks. At the beginning an interest in these images starts off as a mild curiosity but they get drawn in and in some cases it can lead to rape and abuse.
“These messages show them they are not anonymous. Half would be put off by this.”