Since 2013, the APFC has focused on initiatives geared to individual countries. Country-specific efforts leverage Allen & Overy’s report regarding the legal framework to be considered by a coalition of stakeholders against commercial sexual exploitation of children over the Internet – Asia-Pacific region.

To date, ICMEC Singapore has hosted country-specific roundtables in (chronologically): New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Thailand, and the Philippines. These roundtables draw together a diverse group of stakeholders committed to combating the misuse of legitimate corporate platforms to sell, distribute, and access online child sexual abuse materials, and help expand local collaboration. They act as forums for three main groups of participants – government agencies, commercial companies, multi-lateral and NGO partners – to actively discuss and share their perspectives, knowledge, and best practices in the fight against online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Industry partners such as Facebook, Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, PayPal, Visa, and Western Union, among others, have been active contributors to discussion and dialogue at each country roundtable, as have local law enforcement agencies, Departments of Justice/Human Security, and regulatory bodies. Banks, payments companies, Internet Service Providers, telecommunications entities, international and multi-lateral law enforcement agencies, UN agencies, NGOs, and academia.

Subsequently, active working groups have been established in Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Working group members in each countries comprise law enforcement agencies, Financial Intelligence Units, regulatory bodies (e.g., National Privacy Commission, eSafety Commission), financial and payments industry, technology platforms, multi-lateral and NGO partners, and academia.

In Australia, the Australian Payments Network, a financial payments industry self-regulatory body, provides the APFC Australia Working Group an institutional home under the auspices of its Fraud in Banking Forum.

The roundtables have been made possible by a grant from PayPal, and in-kind support from Microsoft and Simpson Grierson (New Zealand Roundtable), Allen & Overy (Australia, Hong Kong, and Thailand Roundtables), and Romulo Mabanta (the Philippines Roundtable).

ICMEC Singapore frequently is invited to showcase the APFC initiative at regional and international forums, such as:

• Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission & UNICEF Malaysia Industry Seminar on Child Sexual Exploitation | Cyberjaya, April 2019
• 36th INTERPOL Specialists Group on Crimes Against Children Conference | Singapore, November 2018
• Visa Security Summit | Singapore, May 2018
• Office of the eSafety Commissioner (Australia) Online Safety on the Edge Conference | Sydney, November 2017
• MasterCard Global Risk Leadership Conference | Singapore, August 2017 | Bangkok, July 2015
• ASEAN Regional Cyber Crime Conference | Manila, June 2017
• Virtual Global Task Force Board of Management Meeting | New Zealand, May 2017

In 2017, ICMEC ran a successful awareness campaign highlighting the work of the APFC, You Have the Power.