Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)

We've found more photorealistic AI-generated child sexual abuse images in the first half of this year, than in the whole of 2025. "I can't even call AI an emerging threat anymore; it is a stabilised threat in this space," says our Head of Hotline Ngaire Alexander. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The @iwf.org.uk last year actioned 17 reports of confirmed child sexual abuse images on chatbots, with some depicting children as young as seven. Research by Graphika found a Chub AI character with 109,000 chats depicting a grooming scenario.

🏆Our 'Think Before You Share' campaign has won 2 major awards: Comms Campaign of the Year at the Third Sector Awards and Gold for Behaviour Change Campaign at the Global Good Awards. These awards recognise the power of evidence-led communications to change behaviours. www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/b...

Would you sign this petition? The EU can act against child sexual abuse online. We asked citizens in the EU district to share their views. Stand up for children online and demand strong EU action. Learn more: ThePetitionNoOneWouldSign.com

“For me, it was always about the mission… about doing a job that made a difference” After 17 years helping to remove child sexual abuse imagery from the internet, a former IWF analyst shares what kept her going: the mission, her team and the support around her. 💙 www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/n...

Urgent action is needed after our expert analysts found “more photorealistic AI-generated child sexual abuse images in the first half of this year than in the whole of 2025, including imagery depicting children under two years old.” arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

“... safety must be baked into new technology by design - this includes testing models before they are released to market to make sure they cannot be used to create nude or sexual imagery of children,” the @iwf.org.uk tells @ashleybelanger.bsky.social for this in-depth piece.

Record numbers of young people under 18 in the UK are facing online ‘sextortion’ according to new data, as experts say there is no time to lose bringing in nudity blocking technology on children’s devices. Read the full article on our website. www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/n...

“People can take genuine innocent imagery from a website, and that might be a nursery website, and use AI to manipulate that, turn it into sexually explicit content, and then use it for blackmail,” explains our Head of Marketing Tom Dyson. inews.co.uk/news/educati...

In the first six months of 2026, our analysts discovered 6,310 realistic AI images of child sexual abuse. "These frontier companies are taking risks, and these are the consequences with those risks," says our CTO Dan Sexton. Read more @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

New IWF data reveals a sharp rise in AI child sexual abuse imagery. We're urging EU policymakers to agree on long-delayed legislation that would give tech companies lasting legal certainty to find and remove criminal content on their platforms. Read more. www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/n...

Our analysts have found more photorealistic child sexual abuse material in the first half of 2026 than for the whole of the prior year. “Tech companies must build tools which cannot be abused this way,” says our Head of Policy Hannah Swirsky. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

“The regulation will enable technology companies to deploy proportionate tools to combat the spread of this growing threat,” says @iwf.org.uk CEO Kerry Smith in response to a 'disturbing rise' in AI-generated child sexual abuse images. www.nieuwsblad.be/buitenland/i...

Our latest figures reveal that more than 6,000 AI-generated child sexual abuse images were identified in just six months. @channel4news.bsky.social spoke to our CTO Dan and our analyst Natalia about what governments and tech companies can do in response. 📺 Watch at www.channel4.com/news/figures...

Children have been waiting since 2022 for EU policymakers to agree on a strong #ChildSexualAbuseRegulation to combat child sexual abuse online. Now we're finally at trilogue stage & representatives have their 6th meeting next week - 📩Email your MEP here: thepetitionnoonewouldsign.com/contact-your...

Europe is deciding the future of the child sexual abuse regulation. Those decisions will be made in citizens names. If you're an EU citizen, you can now ask your representatives where they stand on protecting children from sexual abuse online. Find out how at ThePetitionNoOneWouldSign.com

The tools to find and remove child sexual abuse material online already exist. They work. Now we just need a law behind them. Europe needs a strong, permanent framework that enables online child sexual abuse material to be detected, reported & removed. Read more at www.thepetitionnoonewouldsign.com

📃 The petition no one would sign. We launch our latest campaign posing a 'provocative' question to EU citizens and MEPs ahead of critical negotiations on child sexual abuse law. Read more on our website and support our call to action. www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/n...

🖋️ Would you sign this petition? We hope no one would. Support strong EU action against online child sexual abuse. Read more at www.thepetitionnoonewouldsign.com

📱⚖️ Regulate tech, not kids. We're proud to join 140+ orgs & experts in a letter to EC President von der Leyen ahead of her #SOTEU address: ensure tech companies prove their products are safe and age-appropriate before for all children. 🔗 Read the letter: 5rightsfoundation.com/resource/joi...

Stop known child sexual abuse imagery with Image Intercept, our innovative tool designed to help smaller companies and startups proactively detect and stop known criminal child sexual abuse images and videos. Learn more and enquire today at iwf.org.uk/our-technolo....

⚠️ If explicit images of your child have been shared, they’re the victim of a crime. Find out how you can get their pics taken down at thinkbeforeyoushare.org. Don’t get angry. Talk about it.

Make online safety stronger with the right tools, services and expertise. As an IWF Member, your organisation can access specialist services and solutions designed to help detect, disrupt and prevent the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online. Learn more today at www.iwf.org.uk/membership/.

The back-to-school checklist is almost complete. One more thing: online safety. NCMEC’s free resources can help families, caregivers, and educators prepare kids for a safer school year, online and off. Get started at https://www.ncmec.org/netsmartz.

Encryption is essential to how the internet works. It's absolutely possible to detect and prevent child sexual abuse material without breaking encryption. Hear more from IWF Chief Technology Officer, Dan Sexton, and Dr Ahmed Danladi Abdullahi here 👇

You don’t want to think about it, but your kids are sharing all sorts online. It’s awkward, but you need to talk about it. If you want to keep your kids safer online, we’ve got resources to help. Learn more at: www.thinkbeforeyoushare.org/parents-and-...

Our 53 global reporting portals offer people a free and confidential way to report child sexual abuse material online. Stumbling across this content is distressing, but just one report can make a difference. 📨 Make a report or learn more: www.iwf.org.uk/report/.

Is someone threatening to post sexual images of your child online? We know this is distressing, but know that immediate help is available: 🤝Support your child - they're never to blame ⛔Don’t pay or engage the abuser 🚨Report to the police Seek support and guidance at www.iwf.org.uk/resources/se...

Moves to strengthen online protections for children in the EU are welcome, particularly the emphasis on technology companies, rather than parents or children, bearing responsibility for making platforms safe. It is a position that the @iwf.org.uk has long held. www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

How does proactive detection and blocking of child sexual abuse material actually work? 👇Watch our video to learn how privacy safeguards protect children.

Finding out a photo of your child was altered with AI can feel scary. Remember, it's never the young person's fault and there are steps you can take. 📚 Download and share our & NCA free guide: iwf.org.uk/ai

Join us in San Francisco for #TrustCon2026 On 21 July, our CTO Dan Sexton will join experts from engineering, data science & operations for a panel exploring the technical, ethical & legal challenges shaping modern child safety infrastructure. Find out more: www.trustcon.net/event/trustc...

The so-called social media ban is a revolutionary step, but is a revolutionary moment for child safety? Our CEO Kerry Smith explains how safety by design & stronger action on the Online Safety Act would make a bigger difference. www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/b...

Digital literacy matters, but it cannot replace effective safeguards and accountability from the platforms where abuse occurs. A permanent framework allowing companies to detect CSAM should be the floor, not the ceiling, of Europe's ambition. Read more: www.iwf.org.uk/news-media/b...

We're thrilled to announce that our Think Before You Share campaign has been shortlisted for the Behaviour Change Campaign of the Year category in the 2026 Global Good Awards. Good luck to all finalists! Find out more about the awards at globalgoodawards.co.uk/2026-global-...

We welcome the G7 Common Set of Principles defining a safer secure digital space for children and teenagers. These include some of our key priority calls, such as platform accountability and preventing the proliferation of AI-CSAM. We look forward to seeing these principles translate into actions.

Child sexual abuse material detection technologies are often misunderstood in the online safety debate. Our new Myth vs Fact video separates fact from fiction and explains how these technologies actually work. 📺Watch now: www.iwf.org.uk/resources/ch...

The UK Government "is right to take action" with social media ban," says our CEO Kerry Smith. But age-gating under 16s "can only be one part of a response - we need to keep applying pressure on tech companies to make their platforms safer for children." www.lbc.co.uk/article/soci...

The Echo project - run by IPPPRI, Protect Children, Child Rescue Coalition & us -, will help victims of child sexual abuse in England and Wales who have reported their abuse to the police to identify and remove images of abuse online. Read more. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

At the heart of a safer digital environment for children is an environment that is free from child sexual abuse. Alongside other leading UK child protection organisations we're calling on Government to introduce a series of urgently needed measures. Read more. www.iwf.org.uk/policy-work/...