Child safety standards

Last updated 17 September 2026

This page sets out how the Agora News Study app prevents, detects and responds to child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE). The app is a research tool operated by the researchers running the study, Rafael Jiménez-Durán and Karthik Srinivasan.

The app is for adults only

Participation is restricted to adults aged 18 and over. Participants are recruited through Prolific, which requires its members to be 18 or older, and each person confirms they are 18 or over in the study's consent form before taking part. The app cannot be used without an enrollment code issued to a screened, consenting adult participant. We do not knowingly permit anyone under 18 to use the app.

Prohibited content

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and any content that sexualizes, exploits or endangers a child is strictly prohibited, without exception. So is any attempt to solicit, groom or make contact with a minor. This is stated in the terms of use, which every participant accepts before using the app.

How we prevent and detect it

The app carries text only. Participants cannot upload, send or share images, video or files of any kind, and there is no private messaging — all posts are visible only within a participant's own small discussion group.

Every post and reply is screened automatically before it can appear. Submitted text is classified by a commercial content-safety service, and content flagged for sexual content involving minors is blocked and never published. A second automated check blocks email addresses, phone numbers and other contact details, so participants cannot exchange contact information through the app. These checks apply to every participant, in every version of the app.

Reporting

Any participant can report a post or another member from inside the app. Reports go to a review queue read by the research team. Anyone else can report a concern to support@agoranewsstudy.org at any time.

How we respond

If content that sexually exploits or endangers a child is found in the app, we:

• remove it from view immediately and suspend the account that posted it;
• preserve the record, because destroying it would destroy evidence;
• report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) through the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, and to the Italian Polizia Postale, which operates the national centre for combating online child pornography (CNCPO), through commissariatodips.it;
• notify the University's legal office and data protection officer.

We comply with applicable child safety laws in the jurisdictions where the study operates, and we cooperate with law enforcement requests relating to child safety.

Point of contact

Questions about these standards, or about the app's CSAE prevention practices, go to support@agoranewsstudy.org.