'It’s an arms race’: the tech teams trying to outpace paedophiles online

Published:  Tue 2 Mar 2021

Written by:  The Guardian

Predators are often early adopters of technology,” says Sarah Smith, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a UK child abuse hotline. “It’s an arms race, we have to be constantly horizon-scanning.”

Smith and her team, based in an unassuming office in Cambridge, are a key link in a chain of experts around the world developing and finessing technology that tracks down paedophiles and removes child abuse images found online.

IWF analysts sit in front of screens for long hours each day, trawling through material flagged to their hotline by the public and police as potentially containing child abuse.

Read more at The Guardian.

IWF vindt op zes maanden tijd al meer AI-beelden van kindermisbruik dan in heel vorig jaar: “Zeer verontrustend”

IWF vindt op zes maanden tijd al meer AI-beelden van kindermisbruik dan in heel vorig jaar: “Zeer verontrustend”

De IWF meldt maandag dat er tussen januari en juni al meer door AI gemaakte beelden van seksueel kindermisbruik opdoken dan in het hele jaar 2025.

5 October 2026 IWF In The News
Figures show huge rise in AI-generated child abuse images

Figures show huge rise in AI-generated child abuse images

There are real worries that Artificial Intelligence is making it easier to create images of child sexual abuse.

29 September 2026 IWF In The News
 How proposed 'Georgia's law' can protect victims of nude image scams

How proposed 'Georgia's law' can protect victims of nude image scams

Georgia Harrison has been campaigning for stricter online safety rules and recently met with the Prime Minister to discuss a new 'Georgia's Law'.

10 September 2026 IWF In The News