The number of reports of illegal or harmful online content to INHOPE's German hotline FSM decreased to 5,985 after a peak in 2018 with 6,733 complaints. 58 % of all reports are valid and violate German youth protection laws (3,482).

Valid CSAM reports increased strongly by more than 53 % (2019: 1,640; 2018: 1,069). After declining for the last three years, the number of cases rose again for the first time and accounts for 47 % of all substantial complaints. There is a removal rate of 100 %. Two days after initial notification 75 % were already removed, after seven days 99 % could no longer be retrieved. The average removal time has improved slightly to 1.97 days including weekends and holidays.

CSAM reports hosted abroad are forwarded to the responsible INHOPE partner hotlines. Most of this content was hosted on servers in the Netherlands, followed by the USA, Russia and France.

Complaints about pornographic content decreased in 2019 to a total of 1,549 cases. Depictions of violence were found on 107 pages. 125 reports were classified as harmful to minors. In the area of hate crime, the proportion of justified complaints has fallen (2019: 61; 2018: 118). However, the number of cases examined in this area is much higher.

2,503 cases did not violate German youth media protection law, were not accessible, could not be found, or did not fall under FSM responsibility. All incoming complaints are carefully examined, individually answered and FSM often refers to appropriate help and advice services.

Find the FSM hotline statistics and graphics here.