Ireland’s banks have been asked by Minister for Finance Simon Harris to examine if card payments routed through their systems are facilitating the dissemination of child abuse images online.
During a meeting with representatives of the retail banks on Wednesday, Harris told them of his “deep concern over revelations that child abuse sites are using paywalls to avoid detection”, according to a statement issued by the Department of Finance afterwards.
His officials added that he wanted the department to have “direct engagement with the banks, particularly their security and IT experts, to see what more can be done to combat the area of fraud and particularly in light of the use of paywalls hiding child sexual abuse”.
“The revelations today that child abuse material is increasingly being hidden behind paywalls are deeply disturbing and represent a deliberate attempt to evade detection and accountability,” Harris said in a statement issued after the meeting.
“Financial institutions and payment providers have an important role to play in helping disrupt these criminal networks and protecting children online.”
