New data published in the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Annual Data & Insights Report reveals teenagers are now facing a “crisis” of sexual exploitation and risk online.

• In 2024, IWF analysts assessed a report every 74 seconds and every 108 seconds that report showed a child being sexually abused. This equates to 424,047 reports assessed and 291,273 reports actioned for removal.
• Reports where the age of the youngest child seen was 14-15 have risen 35% (5,457, up from 4,056 in 2023), and reports involving 16-17- year-olds have risen 67% (2,010, up from 1,202 in 2023).
• 245 reports (equating to 7,644 images and a small number of videos) contained AI-generated imagery of child sexual abuse.
• More than half, 181,112 or 62%, of all webpages actioned in 2024 were traced to hosting services in EU Member states (11% increase on 2023).

According to the report, 2024 saw the discovery of more child sexual abuse webpages than ever before, with escalating numbers driven in part by new threats like AI-generated child sexual abuse, sexually coerced extortion, and the malicious sharing of sexual imagery.

In response, the charity has announced it will be making a powerful new safety tool, Image Intercept, available for free to small businesses, online platforms, and start-ups.

This unprecedented move will support businesses to prevent criminal imagery abuse using IWF’s database of 2,883,015 individual hashes – providing protection against millions of child sexual abuse images and videos and help bring them in line with aims under the UK’s Online Safety Act.


Read the IWF's Annual Report