Family Matters: Colm Gannon on the terrible reality of child exploitation

In this episode of Family Matters, Simon interviews Colm Gannon, CEO of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC Australia), on the escalating problem of child sexual exploitation and abuse, driven by the digital age. They both discuss how this is not a frequently discussed topic, and yet one that needs to be bought out into the open. Colm cites Australia’s 2023 Child Maltreatment Survey finding one in four children experienced unlawful sexual contact, and says similar research is needed in New Zealand. Colm describes cyber tip reports from the US National Center for Missing & Exploited (NCMEC) Children rising by over 20 million year-on-year for four years. Simon notes that New Zealand’s own Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) have just reported a 29% increase in the last year, with over 20,000 reports about New Zealanders via NCMEC. He also notes that there has been almost 700,000 blocked attempts to access known abuse sites. In their discussion, they outline abuse types including sextortion and self-generated images, recorded abuse shared or stored online, enticement and grooming using gaming currencies like Roblox, and emerging “sadistic” exploitation involving coercion into self-harm or suicide, alongside concerns about AI companion chatbots. Colm says NZ’s Digital Safety Directorate is a small, overstretched team, arguing for smarter workflows using technology (including AI triage and ethical facial recognition) plus strong guardrails and accountability for tech built with criminal intent. Simon and Colm then discuss the whole question of internet bans for young people. Colm critiques Australia’s social media minimum age approach as ineffective and potentially giving platforms a “get out” from investing in child safety, favouring device-level age assurance signals and removing “co-mingling” so under-16s can communicate without adults contacting them directly. He explains app-store age gates can be bypassed via sideloading, so protections must hit multiple layers (“safety stack”) and be backed by regulation. The conversation also highlights ICMEC Australia’s origin after a financial institution was fined $1.3B for facilitating monies related to exploitation, and that as part of this fine, a $25M donation launched the centre. Colm talks of his ambition to replicate ICMEC’s work in New Zealand. Simon and Colm end by discussing suggestions for parents - prioritising face-to-face conversations with your kids, be ready for disclosures, respond calmly, and understand that risks extend beyond social media to messaging apps and gaming platforms. #familymatters #familyfirstnz