Young girl sofa using phone online

Protecting Children Online: A Call to Action

We are dedicated to ending the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online. For nearly 30 years, since the early days of the internet, our job has been to help child victims of sexual abuse by hunting down and removing any online record of the abuse.

Amid emerging trends, such as child sexual abuse material generated by AI, it is critical that making the internet safer for children is a top priority for the new parliament.

In 2023 alone, the IWF removed over one million web pages featuring child sexual abuse images and videos. Heartbreakingly, 92% of the material we identified involved “self-generated” content, with a growing number of these victims being just three to six years old.

We are calling on Parliament to take decisive action to stay One Step Ahead in the fight against child sexual abuse online. We believe the Government must prioritise the following actions over the next parliamentary term:

  1. Prevent the spread of AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery.
  2. Implement robust age verification to protect children.
  3. Ensure abusers have no hiding place in encrypted communications.
  4. Mandate the reporting of suspected child sexual abuse.
  5. Stop illegal content before it reaches the internet.


For more information or to get involved, please contact our Public Affairs & Policy Officer, Bobbie Dennis, at [email protected] or by calling 07496 580902.

IWF One Step Ahead Video

Latest IWF News

IWF appoints Kerry Smith as new CEO

IWF appoints Kerry Smith as new CEO

Ms Smith, who is currently CEO at Human Rights charity, the Helen Bamber Foundation, takes over from Interim CEO Derek Ray-Hill, and will be in post in June.

6 March 2025 News
Security Institute announces partnership with Internet Watch Foundation

Security Institute announces partnership with Internet Watch Foundation

The Security Institute has named the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) as its charity partner for the year after the child protection group presented at its annual conference in October 2024.

25 February 2025 News
Global leaders and AI developers can act now to prioritise child safety

Global leaders and AI developers can act now to prioritise child safety

By Hannah Swirsky, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at IWF

21 February 2025 Blog
New partnership strengthens Bluesky’s ability to tackle child sexual abuse imagery

New partnership strengthens Bluesky’s ability to tackle child sexual abuse imagery

The collaboration will grant the social media platform access to IWF’s world-leading tools and datasets for finding, blocking and removing sexual abuse content of children online.

21 February 2025 News
New AI child sexual abuse laws announced following IWF campaign

New AI child sexual abuse laws announced following IWF campaign

Tighter rules come as IWF warns AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery reports have quadrupled in a year.

2 February 2025 News
Hive partners with IWF to reduce the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online

Hive partners with IWF to reduce the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online

This partnership will bolster Hive’s capability to help its customers detect and mitigate CSAM on their platforms through a single, integrated API.

23 January 2025 News