Tag: Internet Watch Foundation

Childline counselling sessions about online child sexual abuse jump by over a third in one year

  • Alarming new figures reveal that last year Childline delivered over 2,400 counselling sessions to children and young people across the UK about online child sexual abuse and exploitation – an annual increase of 36%.
  • Overall, the service delivered over 4,300 counselling sessions to children and young people across the UK with concerns about online harms.
  • NSPCC urges the Government to go further than a ban and take three key actions when their online safety consultation concludes to force tech companies to keep children safe.
  • The charity has also launched a new campaign Shift Ctrl which highlights how online harm disrupts the everyday lives of young people.

Children’s charity the NSPCC are raising the alarm as Childline counselling sessions across the UK about online child sexual abuse and exploitation jumped by more than a third in the last year.

New data from the NSPCC-run service reveals that between April 2025 and March 2026 Childline delivered 2,444 counselling sessions across the UK about online child sexual abuse and exploitation, marking a 36% annual increase.

These figures feed into and reflect a wider problem, with 4,321 counselling sessions taking place about all online harms, including online child sexual abuse, cyberbullying and concerns about young people’s digital behaviour – a 30% increase compared on the year before.

The NSPCC is highlighting these findings as further evidence of how tech companies are failing to protect children across their sites, arguing that without swift action the risks young people face online will get even worse.

Speaking to the service, children described encountering inappropriate and harmful content, falling for online scams, being bullied online and facing privacy concerns on big tech platforms.

They also shared reflections on their social media behaviour and sought advice on managing their screen time and online habits.

Of the 2,444 contacts about online child sexual abuse, young people spoke about being scared that images of them would be shared, about being financially extorted, and the impact this form of abuse could have on their futures. Many asked for support on how to speak to an adult about this.

One 14-year-old girl who contacted Childline said: “I met a guy online and he managed to get photos of me in my underwear. I didn’t send them to him, so I don’t know how he got them.

“He threatened to put my photos on adult websites if I don’t send him more photos. I’m so scared. I’ve reported him online and I’m wondering if I should go to the police too.”

At the same, the children’s charity has launched its Shift Ctrl campaign which highlights how online harm disrupts the everyday lives of young people. It calls on the public to join the charity in demanding urgent action from Government and tech companies to create a safer online world for children.

A video[SM1]  promoting the campaign will appear on various on‑demand TV services, in cinemas (including before The Mandalorian and Grogu), across online video and social media platforms and on billboards across the UK.

As the Government consults on children’s access to social media, the charity is setting out three key actions that they must take to hold tech companies to account and keep children safe:

  1. Make sure teens get genuinely age‑appropriate experiences – platforms must be safe before children can use them.
  2. Stop platforms using addictive design tricks that leave young people feeling out of control.
  3. Use the full force of the law to block illegal and harmful content e.g. nude images at the source across online services, including on devices and AI.

Chris Sherwood, CEO at the NSPCC, said: “For far too long, tech companies have prioritised profit over the wellbeing of children, playing fast and loose with their safety. Enough is enough.

“Behind each of these Childline counselling sessions is a child in distress, using an online world with features that are designed to put them at risk.

“It is crucial that the Government uses their consultation on children’s access to the online world as a springboard to finally hold platforms to account for this harm and to force them to make these spaces safe for young users. This includes ensuring tech companies take action in blocking nude images of children from being taken and shared in real time.

“I urge everyone who cares about creating a safer online world for children to take part in the public consultation before it closes. Together, we can put an end to this harm and give children the safety they need and deserve and parents demand.”

Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said: “Everywhere we look online, children are being sexually exploited. Girls are facing increasingly normalised sexual violence, while boys are being singled out by criminals who capitalise on feelings of shame and fear to extort money from them.

 “Our analysts are discovering record amounts of child sexual abuse imagery online. Stopping this downward spiral and working to create an internet where everyone can flourish needs to be the priority. Safety by design needs to be a guiding principle – and new products and platforms must be built to make sure there is nowhere where criminals can target and exploit children.

 “This must apply to all parts of the internet, even those which are end to end encrypted. Currently, it is just too easy for criminals to target and exploit children and young people. Everybody must play their part in making sure children can learn, play, and socialise online in safety.”

You can submit your response to the Government’s consultation here.

Thousands of online grooming crimes in Scotland during past five years

  • NSPCC publishes new research highlighting a range of tools tech companies, Ofcom, and Government can employ to protect children from perpetrators

More than 3,000 online grooming crimes have been recorded by Police Scotland during the past five years, new data compiled by the NSPCC reveals.   

The figures published by the Scottish Government show that 3,158 Communicating Indecently with a Child offences have been recorded since 2020.   

The charity points out that while these are the offences recorded by police; the real number of crimes is likely to be much higher due to abuse happening in private spaces where harms can be harder to detect.

The NSPCC is highlighting these offences as it publishes new research to tackle this issue – it sets out solutions that can be used to prevent, detect and disrupt grooming in private messaging spaces. Online child sexual abuse crimes can have a long-term impact on a child, leaving them with feelings of guilt, shame, depression, confusion, anxiety and fear.

One 14-year-old who contacted Childline said: “I feel so insecure all the time, so, when this guy I’ve met online, who’s a few years older, started flirting with me, that made me feel so special.

“He seemed to care, but now he’s insisting I send him nudes, and I don’t know if he just gave me attention, so I’d send him nudes. I feel like I’ve been tricked but I’m afraid what he might do if I just block him.

“I can’t control how anxious this makes me feel.”

The charity’s new research identifies cycles of behaviours that perpetrators use, such as creating multiple different profiles and manipulating young users to engage with them across different platforms.

In response, the NSPCC is urging Ofcom and tech companies to take swift action on the recommendations set out in the report, so that they can better identify and prevent online grooming.

Recommendations include:

  • Implementing tools on a child’s phone that can scan for nude images and identify child sexual abuse material, before its shared.
  • Using metadata analysis, which uses background information, like when, where, and how someone is using a platform, to spot suspicious patterns. It does not read private messages, but it can flag behaviours that suggest grooming, such as adults repeatedly contacting large numbers of children or creating fake profiles.
  • Create barriers for adult profiles engaging children on social media platforms, like restrictions on who they can search and how many people they can contact.
  • Tech platform leaders should commit to delivering services which effectively support and balance user safety and privacy.

The research shows that safety measures must be introduced at the same time to be effective, working in tandem to ensure harm is prevented across the grooming cycle.

The NSPCC is urging tech companies, Ofcom, and Government to take leadership on addressing this devastating crime and commit to using every tool available to them to stop perpetrators in their tracks.

Chris Sherwood, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “At Childline, we hear first-hand how grooming can devastate young lives. The trauma doesn’t end when the messages stop, it can leave children battling anxiety, depression, and shame for years.

“Tech companies must act now to prevent further escalation. The tools the NSPCC sets out to protect children are ready to use and urgently needed. Importantly, they mean that services can keep children safe while protecting all user’s privacy. Children’s safety must be built into platform design from the start, not treated as an afterthought.”

Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said: “The internet has opened a door into millions of homes, giving predators access to children.

“Safety should be something which is built into all services and platforms from the bottom up, not tacked on as an afterthought. There should be absolutely nowhere for predators to hide online.

“Tech companies must do everything they can, including in end-to-end encrypted spaces, to keep children safe. It is clear now that this can be done effectively without compromising users’ privacy. There really is no excuse – and the alternative is allowing children to continue to suffer.”