Extreme online child sexual abuse doubles in two years
A report by the Internet Watch Foundation has found that newborn babies and toddlers are among the victims of Category A online sexual abuse, which has doubled in the past two years.
Of the images found of children aged two years old and under, 81% were classed as Category A abuse. 50% of the severe abuse recorded related to children aged three to six.
Joanna Barrett, associate head of policy and public affairs for the NSPCC, said: “It’s really concerning to see such a big increase in child abuse material being found and shared online.
“We know that more than three-quarters of this material is self-generated, so it’s never been more important to disrupt and tackle grooming and abuse on social media, live streaming services and in private messaging.”
She added: “It’s really important that tech companies take active steps to ensure that their products and their services do not contribute to child sexual abuse, and where they do that regulators have the power to step in and protect children.”
In 2022, the IWF assessed a web page every 90 seconds. Of the pages viewed, a child being sexually abused was shown every two minutes
