A record number of reports of online child sexual abuse have been processed by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).
“Firms must do all they can to keep users, particularly children, safe and to stop any illegal content from spreading on their platforms but the legislation must support them in doing that"
“We can not allow Europe to be a safe haven for these criminals who would exploit the worst abuse of vulnerable, innocent children. We are pleased to see some action is being taken"
Minister praises work to find and remove images and videos of child sexual abuse from the internet, and says new legislation will aim to tackle the issue.
An IWF analyst’s instincts told him he could act quickly to intervene after he received an anonymous tip off.
IWF analysts have seen accelerating numbers of public reports of child sexual abuse, with more people staying and working from home among contributing factors.
The aim is for the new chatbot to “target” users before they actually commit a criminal offence.
Chris Hughes leads a team of analysts whose job is to assess images and videos of suspected child sexual abuse to help get them removed from the internet.
Digital Minister Caroline Dinenage said the welfare of children is central to the Government’s approach on tackling online harms.
Videos and images where children have been manipulated into recording their own abuse now make up nearly half of all the material removed from the internet by IWF analysts.
