In 2024, we saw the scale and complexity of the problem we are grappling with continue to escalate.
In April, our data and trends revealed that we are finding and removing more webpages showing images and recordings of child sexual abuse than ever before, involving younger children.
We’re facing growing challenges from numerous sources, including AI-generated images and the increasing use of end-to-end encryption to share criminal images.
Last year, we updated our 2023 report on AI-generated material, which charted the impact of generative AI on the spread of child sexual abuse. Following our work in this area, the Home Secretary has since announced a raft of new landmark legislation designed to curb the rise of child sexual abuse material generated by AI.
It’s only by working collaboratively with our Members, governments and regulators worldwide that we can disrupt the system of online exploitation and abuse.
To increase our impact, we’re making more of our services accessible to more of our Members and non-Members, and are extremely grateful for PIR’s sponsorship, which enables smaller domain registries to ensure their portfolio of top-level domains is not being abused.
We have made sure that our insights inform international policy by organising a joint event with Microsoft in Brussels on Uniting for a Safer Online Experience. We have also visited our US and Canadian equivalents, NCMEC and C3P, to discuss further opportunities for us to work together to scale up our collective impact.
As Ofcom press on with the implementation of the Online Safety Act, we’re pleased that the regulator has set out positive measures for services to undertake to detect and remove known child sexual abuse online. However, given the scale of the problem, we will continue to call on Ofcom and the UK government to be more ambitious.
For the Senior Leadership Team, this has been a time of significant change. I’d like to recognise the central contribution of Susie Hargreaves OBE, who left the IWF this summer after 13 successful years as CEO. We’ve been very lucky to have Derek Ray-Hill as our Interim CEO, and we look forward to welcoming our new permanent CEO, Kerry Smith, in summer 2025.
Meanwhile, our diverse Board, with its wide range of expertise in industry, technology, law, child protection, communications and public relations, is well placed to support the IWF as we move forward. I would like to thank them, as well as our colleague team, for all their work this year.
We’re doing great work, but there’s still so much more to do. Next year, I expect us to increase our membership and build more and stronger partnerships so that we can intensify our collective impact and protect more children from being victimised online.
Thank you for your support this year. We look forward to making even bigger impacts together in the year ahead.
