Published: Thu 5 Dec 2024
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the NSPCC have won an award that recognises the vital service that the Report Remove tool offers children in the UK.
The world-first Report Remove service is a collaboration between Childline, the NSPCC’s counselling service, and the IWF. It gives children a secure and anonymous way to report sexual images or videos of themselves and have them removed from the internet.
The sharing of nude images can have a devastating impact on children and this service provides young people with a way to take control of their online presence and safety.
Since the launch of Report Remove in 2021, similar services have followed in its wake to help stop the global spread of young people’s nude images online.
In this year alone, the IWF has seen an increase in financially motivated sexual extortion reports, where organised gangs of criminals deliberately target young people in a bid to get them to share nude or sexual imagery of themselves. This imagery is then used in an aggressive campaign of blackmail to extort money from the children.
The Safeguarding Award was presented at a ceremony on November 28 hosted by Children and Young People Now magazine that showcased innovation and outstanding practice across the children’s services sector.
Chris Hughes, IWF Hotline Director, said: “There has never been a more important time to have a service like Report Remove available to children. Life is increasingly online and children should be allowed to experience all the good things, such as community and learning, that the internet offers.
“However, there is a dark side to the internet, and when things go wrong, this tool can empower children and young people to stop the spread of their nude images online and give them some sense of control over the horrible experience that is happening to them.
“Collaboration with the NSPCC was essential in developing a tool that could deliver the essential support needed to allow a child to report their image to us so that we can get it blocked and removed from the internet. This type of service needs to be made available to every child in the world to tackle an issue that has global proportions.”
Shaun Friel, Childline Director, said: “We’re delighted that the Children and Young People Now Awards have recognised the positive impact that Report Remove is having on the safety of young people.
“Every child deserves the right to be safe online. Report Remove was created with the knowledge that unfortunately young people face situations where they can be exploited and endangered online, and our tool empowers them to regain control of their own images.”
“Our work with the IWF has allowed us to help many children across the UK, and we hope to see it grow even further so that no child feels alone when facing exploitation online.”
Report Remove is safe, easy to use and free – all children need to do is visit the dedicated Report Remove page on Childline's website. There, they can create a Childline account so they can be sent updates on their report and report their image or video to the IWF. Children can also talk to a Childline counsellor if they want any extra support.
The IWF will create a “hash” (digital fingerprint) from the image or video which will be provided to tech platforms to help ensure the imagery is not shared or uploaded online.
Local MP Ian Sollom learned about the herculean task faced by analysts at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) who find, assess and remove child sexual abuse material on the internet.
