Internet Watch Foundation sees the most extreme year on record in 2023 Annual Report and calls for immediate action to protect very young children online.
The National Crime Agency estimates there to be between 550,000 and 850,000 people in the UK who pose varying forms of sexual risk to children.
The UK’s Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the USA’s National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) announce a landmark agreement to better protect children whose sexual abuse images are shared and traded on the internet.
Expert analysts have taken action against 200,000 websites containing child sexual abuse material
The findings will be ‘invaluable’ in turning the tide on the threat children are facing from online predators.
The IWF welcomes the EU political agreement on the recast Child Sexual Abuse Directive, closing critical gaps around AI-generated abuse material.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has launched a deliberately provocative public campaign in Brussels calling on EU citizens and MEPs to back a robust Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR). Titled "The Petition No One Would Sign," the campaign presents a mock petition asking the public to support making it easier for child sexual abuse to spread online — a proposition no one would actually endorse — to highlight the real-world consequences of a weak or delayed CSAR. Launched physically across Brussels, including at Schuman Metro station, and digitally across Europe, the campaign coincides with EU negotiators resuming talks this autumn after four years of stalled progress. The IWF cites a 260-fold rise in AI-generated child sexual abuse videos in 2025 alone. CEO Kerry Smith argues the technology and proposals to protect children already exist — what's missing is political will. The campaign urges citizens to contact their MEPs before the CSAR's temporary legal basis lapses in 2028.
More sextortion reports have been confirmed in the first six months of 2026 than in the whole of 2025, with boys targeted in 95% of cases. The IWF says there is no time to lose bringing in nudity blocking technology on children’s devices.
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?