The popular parenting forum Mumsnet has halted the ability to share photos on its site following claims that images of child sexual abuse were uploaded.
Founder and CEO Justine Roberts reported that on late Sunday into Monday morning, five images from two distinct user accounts were posted, but the majority were quickly removed within an hour, with all being deleted by 4am.
Roberts confirmed that the offensive content was flagged to the Metropolitan Police and a subsequent meeting with officers is scheduled. Site posts initially alerted moderators to the images, while the platform’s automatic moderation system was also activated after receiving multiple user reports.
Speaking to PA news agency, Roberts explained the measures taken: “As a temporary measure, we have suspended the ability to post images on site and we are working on implementing AI filters to flag illegal/disturbing images before they appear.”
She continued, “We’re also liaising with external specialists to see if there are any further tools we can employ to help us prevent this from happening again in the future.”
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AI filtering technology is anticipated to be up and running in the forthcoming days, after which the functionality to upload images will be restored, she said.
Launched in 2000, Mumsnet is among the largest parenting communities in the UK, boasting roughly nine million unique visitors every month.
The Met Police has been solicited for a statement regarding the matter.
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