Children's organisations in 67 countries have joined together to launch the "make-IT-safe" campaign.
"It's a growing problem, and it's a global problem," Carmen Madrinan, executive director of Bangkok-based ECPAT International, which helps monitor child protection issues for the United Nations.
ECPAT, which is spearheading the initiative along with London-based Children's Charities Coalition for Internet Safety (CHIS), "calls on the Internet and hi technology sectors to take responsibility that its goods and services are safe for children everywhere," Madrinan said.
The campaign demands the information technology industry create a global child protection lobby, fund research of technological tools to combat sexual abuse, and support child protection campaigns in the world's major languages.
Most nations, especially in the developing world, lack laws criminalising child pornography and do not have sufficient capacity among police to crack down on abuse, said Madrinan.
The Int