Pornographic images of children circulate on the Internet at an alarming rate. Since 2002, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) have reviewed and analyzed nearly 49 million photos and videos of child pornography--more than 13 million in 2010 alone--according to Ernie Allen, NCMEC president and CEO.

PhotoDNA is a technology developed by Microsoft that helps find and remove some of the “worst of the worst” images on the Internet. Microsoft donated the PhotoDNA technology to the NCMEC who developed a PhotoDNA-based program for Internet companies. Recently, Facebook announced that they would be using the service on their site.

For more information, see 500 million friends against child exploitation. To learn more about other ways Microsoft continues to advocate for a safer Internet, see the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit Newsroom.