New 'breakthrough’ partnership to disrupt spread of child sexual abuse websites

A “breakthrough” new tool will disrupt criminals running child sexual abuse sites amid calls for more domain registrars to sign up for free tools currently protecting 55 million domains from abuse.

The initiative will enable registrars, businesses that allow users to purchase domain names, to receive IWF verified alerts of child sexual abuse imagery alongside DNS Abuse reports.

Sponsored by Public Interest Registry (PIR), the US non-profit that operates the .ORG Top-Level Domain, the breakthrough service will be the first time child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reporting will sit alongside accepted and common place DNS Abuse categories such as malware, spam, or phishing.

Under the new integration, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) will receive reports via The NetBeacon Institute, a PIR supported initiative, which helps tackle DNS Abuse.

NetBeacon Reporter now allows reporting of suspected CSAM with a direct pass through to IWF whose trained analysts assess the report according to UK law.

If the content is confirmed to contain CSAM, the IWF will take action to have it removed and blocked from the internet, while also alerting the relevant registrar.

As well as this, PIR’s sponsorship of key IWF services for registrars, as announced in October, is now open and registrars can make use of them, at no cost. Registrars are being encouraged to use the free tools to join the fight against the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online. 

Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the IWF, said: “This is a breakthrough initiative as, for the first time, child sexual abuse material reporting will sit alongside accepted and common place DNS abuse categories such as malware, spam, and phishing.

“Everywhere we look online, children are being sexually exploited. Perpetrators have turned the internet against them. New initiatives like this will be key in disrupting these criminals at every step, and making sure the abuse is found and shut down wherever it goes.”

PIR has been working with the IWF to sponsor registries since 2024 when a sponsorship scheme gave them free access to the IWF’s Domain Alerts and TLD (Top-Level Domain) Hopping List.

Both services have been made free of charge to all registries and registry service providers and continue to be available and free of charge. Dozens of registries have since taken advantage of the services, making it harder for criminals to abuse domains to host and distribute CSAM. This equates to 55 million domains which are now covered by the scheme.

The scheme has been rolled out to include registrars, who are encouraged to contact the IWF to learn about how the free tools could help prevent the abuse of sites they register. Any registrar looking to sign up to receive the two services can receive more information here: IWF Domain Services for Registries & Registrars, or apply here: IWF Domain Services Application.

Brian Cimbolic, Chief Legal and Policy Officer for PIR, said: "Initially a collaborative effort between the IWF and PIR to assist registries with child sexual abuse material, this initiative has grown into a partnership that is now vital for both registries and registrars in identifying and eliminating harmful imagery and videos, and a safer Internet for all.

"By broadening this partnership to now incorporate data from the NetBeacon Institute, we are providing registrars with the critical resources required to identify and remove this harmful content."

Graeme Bunton, Executive Director of the NetBeacon Institute, said: “IWF does critically important work to help remove child sexual abuse material from the Internet, and we are very proud that NetBeacon Reporter can play a role in supporting those efforts.

“Building on PIR’s partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation to support the reporting of CSAM to IWF is an important step for the NetBeacon Institute and the continued evolution of our work to create a safer Internet.”

Registrars will receive reports sent through NetBeacon Reporter automatically, but if they’d like to access advanced settings, they can make an account here.  

Owen Smigelski, Namecheap Head of ICANN Compliance & Relations, said: "Namecheap is proud to be one of the first registrars to partner with the IWF to reduce and prevent CSAM on our platform. We have worked closely with the NetBeacon Institute to improve the efficacy and impact of NetBeacon Reporter for identifying and mitigating online harms. We look forward to continued collaboration with IWF, NetBeacon, and PIR in combatting CSAM and other online harms.”