Google and Microsoft have continued their fight against child pornography with software that prevents over 100,000 search terms from linking to material having to do with child abuse, CNET reported. Over 13,000 of those terms will come with a warning that such videos and photos are illegal, according to an article written by Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt in UK's The Daily Mail. The warning also directs searchers to places where they can find help.

"We've listened, and in the last three months put more than 200 people to work developing new, state-of-the-art technology to tackle the problem," Schmidt wrote. "We've fine-tuned Google search to prevent links to child sexual abuse material from appearing in our results."

For the last few years, Google has been actively tinkering with its search engine to fight the spread of child pornography. It regularly flags pictures it deems abusive to children and attaches to them a unique fingerprint so they no longer appear in searches (and may result in the "warning message" when a searcher types in terms relating to the photo), according to CNET. Though Google enlists the help of Microsoft's photo-detection program to filter pictures, the technology cannot always distinguish between a harmless picture of a child taking a bath and true sexual abuse. Thus, fingerprinting photos requires some human judgment and can't be completed in one widespread sweep, according to The Daily Mail.

Google and Microsoft's latest collaboration was perhaps spurred by a speech this summer by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who has praised the companies' recent efforts, Forbes reported.

"Google and Microsoft have come a long way," Cameron told The Daily Mail. "A recent deterrence campaign from Google led to a 20 percent drop off in people trying to find illegal content, so we know this sort of action will make a difference."

Forbes contributor Tim Worstall supported sanctions making child pornography more difficult to search for, but questioned the precedent of a politician putting pressure on private companies for the benefit of his own (and the public's) will. Worstall also pointed out the large sum spent by Google and Microsoft to carry out its latest project (at least $20 million, he estimated), that child pornography will still be just as prevalent on the internet - just not via Google, and that the software unintentially blocks searches not related to child pornography.

Yet, Google had been beefing up its technology against child predators before Cameron's speech. Schimidt himself admitted there is no quick fix to ending child abuse over the internet - even if he perhaps overrates the efficacy of his new technology, as per Worstall.

Rather than question Cameron's motives (like winning the next election), Schmidt embraces the relationship between criminal authorities, tech companies, and the government, and how they are able to work together to prevent further abuse. 

"The sexual abuse of children is a global challenge, and success depends on everyone working together - law enforcement, internet companies and charities," Schmidt wrote. "We welcome the lead taken by the British Government, and hope that the technologies developed (and shared) by our industry will make a real difference in the fight against this terrible crime."