Social media ban – why a big tech revolution and bolder action on Online Safety Act are key
The so-called social media ban is a revolutionary step, but is this a revolutionary moment for child safety?
2 July 2026
Blog
The IWF and Santander join forces to host hackathon
Published: Fri 20 Apr 2018
In 2017, the IWF saw an increase in the use of disguised websites to hide webpages showing child sexual abuse material. As more and more offenders use technical methods to disguise the distribution of online child sexual abuse, we need to fight back with technology too.
On Saturday 14th July 2018, the IWF and Banco Santander are coming together to host the first IWF Online Child Safety Hackathon.
We are calling all engineers, developers, cyber security experts and individuals who have awesome skills to come together and work on some awesome projects to stop offenders distributing child sexual abuse material on the internet.
The hackathon is a one-day event in central London and you are invited to take part and do your bit to find and create technological solutions. Projects include data harvesting, catalogue/hashing and OSINT/SOCMINT.
We will soon announce how to register for the Hackathon, so be sure to follow @iwfhotline and @dcuthbert for further announcements.
See you on the 14th July to build some awesome solutions and make a real difference to the victims of online child sexual abuse.
All IP developed will be donated to the IWF Hotline for the investigation and removal of child sexual abuse only.
RSVP does not guarantee participation, you will receive a confirmation email two weeks in advance.
Europe cannot keep asking children to protect themselves from sexual predators
We would not expect children to protect themselves from sexual abuse in schools, clubs or youth organisations so why would we adopt such an approach online?
29 June 2026
Blog
Separating fact from fiction on the technology used to detect child sexual abuse
Public debate around online child sexual abuse material detection is dominated by myths, misunderstandings, and hypotheticals. The truth is that detection technology is built on established safety and security tools that have been embedded across the digital ecosystem for decades.
22 June 2026
Blog