Huw Edwards’ offences highlight how WhatsApp can be abused by predators sharing criminal imagery of children, IWF warns. Dan Sexton, Chief Technology Officer at the IWF, appeared on national BBC Breakfast television this week (September 17) to warn Meta is not taking adequate steps to proactively prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material on the platform.
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?