Google, Microsoft tighten online searches to combat child porn

LONDON Mon Nov 18, 2013 7:49am EST

A Google search page is seen through the spectacles of a computer user in Leicester, central England July 20, 2007.

Credit: Reuters/Darren Staples

LONDON (Reuters) - Google and Microsoft unveiled measures to block online searches for child sex abuse images on Monday as part of a bid by British authorities to crackdown on Internet pedophiles.

The companies said as many as 100,000 search terms will now fail to produce results and trigger warnings that child abuse imagery is illegal while offering advice on where to get help.

The world's two largest search engine operators' move was a rare display of unity ahead of an Internet safety summit on Monday hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cameron welcomed the progress to block illegal content but said far more still needed to be done.

"If more isn't done to stop illegal child abuse content being found, we will do what is necessary to protect our children," he tweeted ahead of the summit that will announce a new trans-Atlantic task force to tackle online child abuse.

The summit comes after Cameron this summer called on Internet firms to do more to stop access to illegal images.

Now both companies have introduced new algorithms that will prevent searches for child abuse imagery.

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt wrote in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper that these changes had cleaned up the results for over 100,000 queries that might be related to the sexual abuse of children.

"As important, we will soon roll out these changes in more than 150 languages, so the impact will be truly global," he wrote, adding the restrictions would be launched in Britain first then expanded to other languages in the next six months.

Both Google and Microsoft, who were due to join other Internet companies at the summit on Monday, have also agreed to use their technological expertise to help in the identification of abuse images.

Schmidt said Google planned to provide engineers to give technical support to the Internet Watch Foundation in Britain and the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and to fund internships for engineers at these organizations.

Conservative parliamentarian Claire Perry, who is Cameron's adviser on childhood, said British and U.S. law enforcement agencies would back up this effort by tracking pedophiles using the "hidden Internet" or so-called "dark web" of encrypted networks to distribute images of child abuse.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by William Hardy)

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Google search secrets

Google search secrets | News & Press Center Skip to main content #header { background-image: url("http://www.ala.org/news/sites/ala.org.news/files/ala-header-long.png"); } ALA User Menu My AccountALAALA ConnectContact ALAGiveALAJoin/RenewLogin Search form Search ala homepage quick links CommitteesALA & Council CommitteesDivision CommitteesJoint CommitteesRound Table CommitteesSpecial CommitteesVolunteer FormsDivisionsAmerican Association of School Librarians (AASL)Assn. for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS)Assn. for Library Service to Children (ALSC)Assn. of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)Assn. of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)Library & Information Technology Assn. (LITA)Library Leadership & Management Assn. (LLAMA)Public Library Assn. (PLA)Reference & User Services Assn. (RUSA)United for LibrariesYoung Adult Library Services Assn. (YALSA)OfficesChapter Relations Office (CRO)Conference ServicesDevelopmentFinance & AccountingGovernanceHuman ResourcesInformation Technology & Telecommunication Services (ITTS)International Relations Office (IRO)LibraryMember & Customer Service (MACS)Membership DevelopmentOffice for AccreditationOffice for DiversityOffice for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR)Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP)Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF)Office for Library Advocacy (OLA)Office for Literacy & Outreach (OLOS)Office for Research & Statistics (ORS)Office of Government Relations (OGR)Public Information Office (PIO)Public Programs Office (PPO)PublishingStaff Support ServicesWashington Office (WO)Round TablesEthnic & Multicultural (EMIERT)Exhibits (ERT)Federal & Armed Forces Libraries (FAFLRT)Games & Gaming (GameRT)Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender (GLBTRT)Government Documents (GODORT)Intellectual Freedom (IFRT)International Relations (IRRT)Learning (LearnRT)Library History (LHRT)Library Instruction (LIRT)Library Research (LRRT)Library Support Staff Interests (LSSIRT)Map & Geospatial Information (MAGIRT)New Members (NMRT)Retired Members Round Table (RMRT)Social Responsibilities (SRRT)Staff Organizations (SORT)Sustainability (SustainRT)Video (VRT)PublicationsALA Award & Notable SealsALA Mail List RentalALA StoreAmerican Libraries MagazineBooklistSubscription Order FormRelated@ your libraryALA-Allied Professional AssociationAmerican Libraries Buyers GuideDonate (giveALA)Freedom to Read FoundationI Love LibrariesLegislative Action CenterLibraryCareers.orgMerritt Humanitarian FundProgramming LibrarianRead Write Connect Right Nav Contact CongressFeedback You are at: ALA.org  » NEWS  » Google search secrets !Left Navigation: News & Press Center ALA Press ReleasesPress CenterPress Credential GuidelinesPress KitsState of America's Libraries Report 2013State of America's Library Report ArchiveSubmit News Items to ALAOp-edsRecent Media Coverage Share this page:Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on StumbleUponShare on RedditShare on DiggShare on LinkedInShare on Google+Share on PinterestShare on TumblrMore Options Send via email  Print  Cite  Google search secrets  Subscribe Download Images

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"Google Search Secrets"

"Going Beyond Google Again: Strategies for Using and Teaching the Invisible Web"

"Semantic Web Technologies and Social Searching for Librarians (THE TECH SET® #20)"

For Immediate Release
Tue, 10/29/2013

Contact: Rob Christopher Marketing Coordinator ALA Publishing 312-280-5052 rchristopher@ala.org American Library Association

CHICAGO — Google can be an incredibly powerful tool for research, but the top-of-the-page results are seldom the most beneficial to library users and students, and many of the search engine’s most useful features are hidden behind its famously simple interface. In “Google Search Secrets,” published by ALA Neal-Schuman, Christa Burns and Michael P. Sauers reveal tricks and tips for effective Google searches, showing how to get the most out of the service, with:

an overview of all the tool’s search services, including Images, Maps, News, Blogs, Discussions, Scholar, Patents and Books;ready-to-use instructions on how to go beyond the simple search box and top results to get library users the answers they need, fast;straightforward guidance on using filters to refine search results, with examples of common searches like images with Creative Commons licenses, news searches set for a date range or into an archive and videos with closed captioning;an explanation of the bibliography manager feature of Google Scholar, which allows students and researchers to build bibliographies with ease;tips for configuring Safe Search on workstations in children’s departments and schools;copious screenshots that walk readers through each topic step by step.

Burns is the special projects librarian, technology and access services, at the Nebraska Library Commission. She provides organization, training and consultation for special projects, such as the Gates Foundation grants for libraries, E-rate, Learning 2.0 and group purchases of library products and services. She also coordinates, produces, and hosts the Commission’s weekly webinar series, NCompass Live. She previously spent more than eight years at Pace University in Westchester County, N.Y., starting as a reference librarian and working her way up to become head of research and information services.

Sauers is currently the technology innovation librarian for the Nebraska Library Commission in Lincoln, Neb., and has been training librarians in technology for almost 20 years. He has been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library Friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant and bookseller. He earned his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. He blogs at The Travelin' Librarian, and runs websites for authors and historical societies. He has authored or co-authored many books, including “Semantic Web Technologies and Social Searching for Librarians (THE TECH SET® #20).”

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. Founded in 1976 by Patricia Glass Schuman and John Vincent Neal, ALA Neal-Schuman, now an imprint of ALA Publishing, publishes professional books for librarians, archivists, and knowledge managers. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5052 or editionsmarketing@ala.org.

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