2024 saw record levels of web pages hosting child sexual abuse imagery discovered, according to a leading online safety organisation.
In its annual report, The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which finds and helps remove abuse imagery online, said 291,273 reports of child sexual abuse imagery were reported last year.
The organisation said it was seeing rising numbers of cases being driven by threats, including AI-generated sexual abuse content, sextortion and the malicious sharing of nude or sexual imagery.
It said under-18s were now facing a crisis of sexual exploitation and risk online. Following the study, the IWF announced it was making a new safety tool available to smaller websites for free, to help them spot and prevent the spread of abuse material on their platforms.
Image Intercept can spot and block images in the IWF’s database of more than 2.8 million which have been digitally marked as criminal imagery.
The IWF said it will give wide swathes of the internet new, 24-hour protection, and help smaller firms comply with the Online Safety Act.
The Online Safety Act began coming into effect last month, and requires platforms to follow new codes of practice, set by the regulator Ofcom, in order to keep users safe online.
Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive at the IWF, said: “Young people are facing rising threats online where they risk sexual exploitation, and where images and videos of that exploitation can spread like wildfire.
“New threats like AI and sexually coerced extortion are only making things more dangerous.
“Many well intentioned and responsible platforms do not have the resources to protect their sites against people who deliberately upload child sexual abuse material.
“That is why we have taken the initiative to help these operators create safer online spaces by providing a free-of-charge hash checking service that will identify known criminal content.
“This is a major moment in online safety, and anyone with an online platform where users can upload content now has the chance to join the fight and help deliver the aspirations of the Online Safety Act.
“Together we can present a stone wall to those looking to spread child sexual abuse imagery.”
The IWF said Image Intercept had received funding support from the Home Office to aid with its creation.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “Visiting the IWF earlier this year was one of the most shocking and moving days I have experienced as Technology Secretary.
“I saw first hand the scale and sinister methods criminals are using to prey on young people, often beginning in what should be the safest place for a child – their bedroom.
“The rise in cases of sextortion, child sexual abuse material, and most recently AI-generated abuse material shows how threats to young people online are constantly evolving.
“But during my visit I also saw the extraordinary dedication of the IWF teams working daily to protect children from further harm and meet these new threats.
“Their new Image Intercept tool is a powerful example of how innovation can be part of the solution in making online spaces safer for children, a goal which – working with IWF and other partners – this Government is committed to delivering.”
The IWF’s annual report also showed that in 97% of the incidents where the victim’s sex was recorded, the material showed the sexual abuse of girls only – which the IWF said was a sharp increase since 2023.
Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said the new Image Intercept tool would be “vital” for protecting children.
“The IWF’s latest findings are deeply disturbing, and show how urgent it is for us to tackle the growth of online child sexual abuse and intensify our efforts to protect children from these heinous crimes,” she said.
“I want to thank the IWF for all the work they do to shine a light on this issue.
“Their Image Intercept initiative, funded by the Home Office, will be vital in helping to stop the re-victimisation of children who have been exploited online.
“But we must also hold technology platforms accountable.
“If they are to be safe places for our children, they must invest in technologies that block this harmful content and stop predators being able to access and groom children online.
“This Government is going further by introducing new measures so anyone who possesses an AI tool designed to create illicit images or owns manuals teaching them how to do so will rightly face time behind bars.
“We will continue to support the robust implementation of the Online Safety Act and will not hesitate to go further if necessary to keep our children safe.”
