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‘Anti-grooming’ software will catch online paedophiles |
LONDON: Scientists have developed
“anti-grooming” software, which can detect whether kids may be
chatting with an adult posing as a child or a teenager on the
internet.
The program, which has been developed by Lancaster
University, uses language analysis technique to detect fraudsters. The key is
that people of a particular age group have a particular vocabulary. Computer
experts believe it could be a significant breakthrough in helping to catch
paedophiles.
Researchers believe the software could eventually be
used to pick up on “stylistic footprints” used by paedophiles, which
would help police track them as they move around the internet.
In a
study, when the software was installed on some computers, it correctly worked
out whether it was an adult or a child using a chatroom in 47 cases out of 50
— including when an adult was pretending to be a child.
“Paedophiles often pose as children online and our research
indicates that children don’t find it easy to spot an adult pretending to
be a child,” the Independent quoted professor Awais Rashid, from Lancaster
University’s computing department, as saying.
“We hope to
develop a system which can pick up on quirks of language particular to a certain
age group. These language patterns can help us expose adults who seek to groom
children online.
“The software looks at a range of things, for
example, the structure of sentences, the language which is being used and also
things which indicate deception.”
It is hoped that an early
working version of the software could be available by next
summer.
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