Online platforms have made it possible for creative work to reach enormous audiences, but they have also created serious challenges for identifying and reporting illegal exploitation of children.

Artists, entertainers, and online creators should remain free to produce controversial, disturbing, or adult-oriented lawful expression. Offensive content alone should not trigger criminal investigation.

When credible evidence indicates that child sexual abuse material, grooming, trafficking, exploitation, or another crime involving minors may have occurred, however, reports should be handled promptly and professionally by the appropriate authorities.

We call for stronger cooperation among online platforms, law-enforcement agencies, child-protection organizations, and technology companies to improve the identification, preservation, reporting, and investigation of credible evidence involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

Reforms should improve reporting channels, evidence preservation, specialized investigative training, coordination between platforms and authorities, victim protection, and public education about how suspected exploitation should be reported.

These safeguards must also protect due process and lawful expression. No artist, entertainer, or ordinary person should be presumed guilty because of controversial artwork, associations, rumors, or lawful adult content.

The objective is not to police art.

It is to ensure that credible evidence of crimes against children reaches the people equipped and legally authorized to investigate it.