Three-year-olds groomed online, charity warns

Published:  Tue 23 Apr 2024

Sexual predators are grooming children under six into performing “disturbing” acts of sexual abuse via phones or webcams a charity has warned.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said it had discovered more than two thousand remotely filmed child abuse images of three to six-year-olds online in 2023.

If follows recent warnings from the communications watchdog Ofcom that almost a quarter of children aged five to seven have a smartphone of their own.

Responding to the report Security Minister Tom Tugendhat urged tech firms to do more to prevent abuse.

He also called on parents "to speak to your children about their use of social media, because the platforms you presume safe may pose a risk”.

The IWF is a charity which helps detect and remove child sexual abuse imagery online.

Read the full article at BBC News.

AI tools have put child sexual abuse ‘on steroids’, Home Secretary warns

AI tools have put child sexual abuse ‘on steroids’, Home Secretary warns

The Home Office said fake images are being used to blackmail children and force them to livestream further abuse.

2 February 2025 IWF In The News
UK makes use of AI tools to create child abuse material a crime

UK makes use of AI tools to create child abuse material a crime

Britain will make it illegal to use artificial intelligence tools that create child sexual abuse images.

1 February 2025 IWF In The News
Charity finds more than 500,000 child abuse victims

Charity finds more than 500,000 child abuse victims

An analyst who removes child sexual abuse content from the internet says she is always trying to stay "one step ahead" of the "bad guys".

8 December 2024 IWF In The News