‘Vital’ child protection work sees top honour for IWF’s Susie Hargreaves - The NSPCC has made Ms Hargreaves an honorary member of the NSPCC council
IWF and NSPCC's Report Remove can support a young person in reporting sexual images shared online and enables them to get the image removed if it is illegal.
The latest data from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reveals a record rise in UK children reporting online sexual extortion, with the Report Remove service now handling an average of nine cases a week. In 2025, the helpline saw a 66% increase in self-reports from under‑18s, confirming 1,175 cases involving harmful imagery — more than a third linked to sexually coerced extortion. Criminals are increasingly exploiting young people’s nude imagery to demand money, further content, or compliance, often using aggressive threats and personal information to create fear and control. Report Remove, run by the IWF in partnership with Childline, allows young people to block or remove nude images of themselves from the internet — even before they are shared. The majority of sextortion cases involved boys aged 14–17, highlighting a growing trend in targeted online abuse. Childline counsellors continue to support children facing blackmail, fear, and isolation. The service remains free, confidential, and available to any young person worried about their imagery being shared online.
New data reveals AI child sexual abuse continues to spread online as criminals create more realistic, and more extreme, imagery.
IWF calls for EU Council to agree to Danish compromise on the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation.
On 3 April, essential child protection systems used by technology companies to detect and remove online child sexual abuse material will become illegal to operate in the EU unless the European Parliament votes to extend the current legal framework. A temporary law allowing voluntary detection is expiring, and political deadlock has stalled a permanent solution. This will create a dangerous legal vacuum that perpetrators are aware of and poised to exploit. Proven tools like hash‑matching - which do not compromise privacy - would be forced offline, enabling millions of known abusive images to resurface. Research shows these systems deter offenders and make access harder; disabling them will reverse this progress. MEPs have one final chance to act by voting for an amendment that preserves protections for children across Europe.
The IWF’s latest AI report exposes rapidly escalating harms to children as the EU moves to scale back the tools that detect and remove child sexual abuse material online. The charity warns that the EU must act urgently to criminalise AI‑generated abuse and preserve essential detection systems before risks intensify further.
The IWF is one of the most effective hotlines in the world at removing child sexual abuse imagery from the internet, but this has only been possible thanks to the key international partnerships.
We've been working with the Council of Europe on furthering countries and nations' commitments to children’s rights and raising awareness about child sexual abuse.