IWF report reveals disturbing trends in online child abuse

The Annual Report 2022

#BehindTheScreens

Everyoneandahalfminutes,IWFanalystsassessawebpage.Everytwo minutes,thatwebpageshowsachildbeingsexuallyabused.

Ifsomeonethinksthey’veseenasexualimageofachildonline,theycan reporttousatiwf.org.uk,orthroughoneof50portalsincountriesaroundthe world,covering2.6bnpeople.

Weassesseveryreportwereceive.Ifitshowsthesexualabuseofachild,we makesuretheimageorvideoisremovedfromtheinternet.Andweprovide bespokeservicesanddatasetstoourindustryMemberstopreventtheimagery fromre-appearingandmakeitharderforoffenderstofindandshare.

With70dedicatedstaff,IWFisoneofthebiggesthotlinesfortacklingchild sexualabuseimageryintheworld,andthelargestinEurope.

Ourworkismadepossiblebyour180+Membersandcorporatepartners,as wellasfundingsupportfromNominet,Thorn,theUKGovernment’sHome Office,theSafeOnlineInitiativeatEndViolenceandOakFoundation.

In2022:

375,230reportswereassessedbyIWF(+4%on2021)

255,588reportswereconfirmedascontainingchildsexualabuseimagery, havinglinkstotheimagery,oradvertisingit(+1%on2021).Thesereports areofwebsitesandnewsgroups.

Totalnumberofactionedreportsthatweretaggedasincludingselfgeneratedcontentwas199,363(+9%on2021whichwas182,281).

Therewasa13percentagepointincrease(from23%to36%)insexual abuseimageryof7-10yearolds,(regardlessofhowitwascreated)anda 10percentagepointdecrease(68%to58%)insexualimageryof11-13 yearoldscomparedtotheyearbefore.However,imageryof11-13sisstill themostprevalent.

Wecurated1,663,106quality-assuredhashes–ordigitalfingerprints–of uniquechildsexualabuseimages.

About IWF

TheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)isatechnology-led,childprotection organisation,makingtheinternetasaferplaceforchildrenandadultsacross theworld.We’reanot-for-profitorganisationworkingcloselywithpolice, governmentsandNGOsglobally,whotrustourwork.Wedetect,disrupt, remove,andpreventonlinechildsexualabusematerialusingourexpertise andresourcesaseffectivelyaspossible.

Whatwedo

Childsexualabuseimagesandvideosarejustasmuchaweaponasaknife. Weactivelysearchforthisimageryandforthepast26years,we’vegiven peopleasafeplacetoreportittous,anonymously,nowcovering50portalsin countriesand2.6bnpeople.

Weassesseveryreportwereceive.Ifitshowsthesexualabuseofachild,we makesuretheimageorvideoisremovedfromtheinternet.

Todothiseffectively,wedeveloptechnology-for-good:Weprovidebespoke services,productsanddatasetstoourindustryMemberstopreventthe imageryfromre-appearingandmakeitharderforoffenderstofindandshare.

With70dedicatedstaff,IWFisoneofthebiggesthotlinesfortacklingchild sexualabuseimageryintheworld,andthelargestinEurope.

Wecare.Ourworkreliesoncompassionateandresilientstaffmembers,who arehighlytrainedandcarefullylookedafter.

Howyoucansupportus

Weencourageotherstoplaytheirpart,whetheritisreportingtous,funding us,orcollaboratingonthebesttechnologyandresearch.

Thechildreninthesepicturesandvideosarereal.Thesufferingcapturedin thisimageryandtheknowledgethatitcouldbesharedcanhauntavictimfor life.

That’swhyit’sourmissiontoremovethismaterialforgood.Andtoshowevery childthereissomeoneouttherewhocaresenoughtohelp.

Ourworkismadepossiblebyour180+Membersandcorporatepartners,as wellasfundingsupportfromNominet,Thorn,theUKGovernment’sHomeOffice, theSafeOnlineInitiativeatEndViolenceandOakFoundation.

The Annual Report 2022

2022 Highlights

•

SaferInternetDay2022celebration

AlongwithpartnersattheUKSaferInternetCentre,weproudlytookpartin theglobalcelebrationofSaferInternetDay2022,whichpromotesthesafe andpositiveuseofdigitaltechnologyforchildrenandyoungpeople.The themewas‘Allfunandgames?Exploringrespectandrelationshipsonline’.

March

PreventioncampaignforchildrenwithSEND

Childrenwithspecialeducationalneedsordisabilities(SEND)arethreetimes morelikelytoexperiencesexualabuseonline.That’swhywelauncheda campaigntohelpthesechildrenandtheirparentsunderstandmoreaboutthis crimeandhowtheycanbetterprotectthemselves.Readourarticle.

IWF’s25thanniversary

Inour25yearsofservice,ourexpertanalystshaveassessedovertwomillion reportsofchildsexualabuseandhelpedtoremovemillionsofchildsexual abuseimagesandvideosfromtheinternet.TogetherwithourMembers, partners,lawenforcementandgovernmentofficials,we’vehelpedsave countlesschildrenfromalifetimeofrevictimisation.

AfricaPortalandHelpChildrenbeChildrencampaignlaunch

WejoinedforceswithMTN,Meta,ICMECandChildHelplineInternationalto launchtheHelpChildrenbeChildrencampaignandtheChildSafetyOnline AfricaPortaltoincreasepublicawarenessoftheimpactofchildsexualabuse materialandhelppreventitsspreadinAfrica. Readourpressrelease.

Gers<>l!.!!o~ea ·1Country Director~a 1 pha Intemallonal, Haiti I __ The knowledge that this suffenng co~ am

IWFwinsatBritishDataAwards

WewereawardedNotforProfitoftheYearattheBritishDataAwards2022 whichcelebratestheorganisationsandpeoplethataredeeplypassionate aboutdata.

Readourpressrelease

June

Taskforcereachesonemillionhashes

Oneyearsincecreation,ourdedicatedhashingtaskforcemarkedthe assessmentandindividualhashingofonemillionimagesofchildsexualabuse fromtheUKGovernment’sChildAbuseImageDatabase(CAID)system.

Readourpressrelease.

IWFlaunchnewpodcast

InJulywelaunchedournew‘shortcast’series,InConversationWith,starting withanin-depthdiscussionwithProfHanyFaridfromtheUniversityof California,Berkeley,ontheencryptionvsprivacydebate.

Readourarticleorcatchuponthepodcast.

Trenches Law

AnewpartnerchoosesIWFascharityoftheyear

TrenchesLawmadetheIWFtheirCharityoftheYear,supportingusbyraising vitalfundsandspreadingthewordaboutourwork.

Readourarticle.

Chatbotcreatedtopreventviewingofchildsexualabuse

AlongsideourpartnersatStopitNow!theIWFunveiledafirst-of-its-kind chatbot,launchedonPornhubUK,designedtostoppotentialoffenders searchingforpicturesandvideosofchildsexualabuseonlineandencourage themtoseekhelpfortheirbehaviour.

Bonusepisodeofourground-breakingpodcastreleased

Wereleasedabonusepisodeofourground-breakingpodcastseries,Pixels fromaCrimeScene,whichfocusedonagrowingthreattochildrenonline.

October

uterWeekly uential Women hnology 2022

CEOnamedinComputerWeekly’smostinfluentialwomeninUKtechlist

OurChiefExecutive,SusieHargreavesOBE,wasannouncedasoneof ComputerWeekly’stop50MostInfluentialWomeninUKTechnologyin2022. Readthearticle.

November

New‘cryptounit’announced

Ouranalystsidentifiedatrendthatshowedcryptocurrencypaymentsforchild sexualabusematerialdoubledalmosteveryyearsince2015.Inresponse,we launchedanew‘crypto-unit’.

Readourpressrelease

POSITIVE IMPACT AWARDS

6 DECEMBER 2022 I LONDON

CELEBRATING CHANGE FOR THE BETTER IN POLITICS, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

FinalistinNewStatesmanPositiveImpactAwards

TheIWFwasafinalistattheNewStatesmanPositiveImpactAwardsfor Technologyonaccountofourinnovativecontributiontotheremovalofchild sexualabusematerialonlinewithIntelliGrade. Readthearticle.

IndependentHotlineAudit

WewelcomedfourindependentinspectorsintoIWFattherequestofour Board.Theyreported:“TheIWFisanextremelyprofessionalandwellmanagedorganisationledbyastrongbutcaringandcompassionate leadershipteam.”Readthereport.

Agalaeventtothankourpartners,championsandadvocates

TheIWFhostedaneventatWestminsterthatgatheredguestsfrom Government,thethirdsector,lawenforcementandthetechindustrytomark

anotheryearofprotectingchildrenonline.Readourarticle.ActorSamantha Mortonspokemovinglyofoneparent’sexperiencetryingtoprotecttheirchild.

Welcome from our Chair

IWFoccupiesauniqueplaceintheonlinesafetylandscape. Itsuccessfullynurturespositiveandproductiverelationshipswithglobal technologycompanies,aswellasothertypesofcompanieswhosecorevalues ofprotectingchildrenreflectourown.NeverhasIWF’smembershipoffering beensovalued,andIWF’sMembersbeensogreatinnumber.

Webuildandmaintainthelargestandmostquality-assureddatabaseofillegal imageswhichenablesustoprovideanunparalleledservicetoourMembers. OurrelationshipswiththeUKGovernment,theincomingUKregulator,Ofcom, andlawenforcement,particularlytheUK’sNationalCrimeAgencyarestrong. Ourpartnersrecognisethecrucialcontributionwemaketotacklingonline childsexualabuse.Thisisparticularlyevidencedbytherolewe’veplayedover thepasttwoyearsastheonlynon-lawenforcementorganisationwithaccess tothenationalChildAbuseImageDatabase(CAID)wherewehaveassessed andqualityassuredovertwomillionimages.Wesharethosebackwithlaw enforcementtoaidtheirworkandalsowithindustrytoensureduplicate imagesofchildsexualabusearenotdistributedontheirplatforms.

Overthepastfewyearswe’veworkedhardonourprogrammeofengagement. Thisisallcritical,ofcourse,asweexpecttoseetheintroductionoftheOnline SafetyBill(OSB)intheUKandnewlegislationintheEU.

AsthelargesthotlineinEurope,contributing63%ofallillegalcontentitemsto theInhopedatabase,ourparticipationandexpertisehasneverbeeninsuch demand.ThenatureofthecrimechangesconstantlywhichiswhytheIWF

AndrewPuddephattOBE,ChairofIWF

playssuchacentralrole.Asanexample,I’mstruckbyastudywithinthis annualreportwhichdetailsthecomplexityofremovingimagesandvideosof childsexualabusefromforums,andhowforumsareresponsiblefor distributingalargeamountofthiscontent–afactwhichisnotimmediately apparentinourdata.

Thescaleofonlinechildsexualabusematerial,andthedesireofabusersto seemoreofthiscontenthasanythingbutabated.Ourchallenge,alongside companiesprovidingonlineplatformsandservices,istomaketheinternetas safeandabuse-freeaspossible.Thisisnoeasytask,butonethatthewholeof theIWFteamisupfor.That’swhythispastyearwe’veembarkedonour biggestrecruitmentdrivetodate.We’veexpandedourhotlineanalystteam, techteamandcorporatefunctionstosupportthoseacrosstheorganisation. Thisareaofworkneverstandsstill.We’recreatingnewservicesforMembers, newwaysinwhichMemberscanreceiveourservicesandbespoke arrangementstosupportspecificrequests.It’stestamenttothequalityand granularityofourdatasetsthatthey’reinsuchdemand.

Itisalsowhy,in2023,wewillhighlighttheneedforamoresustained,high levelnationalcampaignfocusingonpreventingtheabuseofchildren.We believethisshouldbeaprioritysupportedatthehighestlevelofour Governmentandshouldconsidertherecoveryresponse,inadditionto preventionwork,forchildrenwhohavesufferedonlinesexualabuseand exploitation.

Asthedatainthisreportreveals,theIWFhasneverbeensoimportantorso needed.ForthepastfiveyearswehaveworkedcloselywiththeGovernment toensurethattheOSBdelivers‘good’regulationthatputstheinterestsof childrenatitsheartanddoesnot,howeverunintentionally,inanyway compromiseordiminishourwork.That’swhywe’reproposingIWFplaysa centralrole,inpartnershipwithOfcom,tosupporttheregulationofcriminal childsexualabusematerialonlinefortheUK.

Intheyearahead,we’rereadytoworkwithOfcomtolookathowbesttoscale upthedeploymentofourservicesandactivitieswithinscopeoftheUK’s OnlineSafetyBill.

The Annual Report 2022

AndasIbeginmyfinalyearasIWFChair,Icansaythatit’sbeenaprivilege andIamreallygoingtomissworkingwithboththeexemplaryBoardof TrusteesandtheIWFteam.Theexecutiveandwholestaffteamconsistently workhardtomeettheirenormousmissiontoeliminateonlinechildsexual abuse.

In2022,theIWFwasonceagainputunderamicroscopebyanindependent auditteam,ledbyretiredHighCourtJudgeSirMarkHedley,andwerefoundto bean“extremelyprofessionalandwell-managedorganisationledbyastrong butcaringandcompassionateleadershipteam”.UnderSusieHargreaves’ leadershiptheyrisetoeverychallengetobeaglobalbeaconofexcellence.

MyoverallaiminmyfinalyearistoensurethattheGovernmentandOfcom dotherightthingandprotectthelegacyandcrucialworkoftheIWFinthe OnlineSafetyBillregime.

The Annual Report 2022

Welcome from our CEO

Tacklingonlinechildsexualabusehasneverfeltmoreinthespotlight. We’reallgrapplingwithnewandchangingtechnologiesandshifting behavioursofcriminalsonlinewhoseektocreateanddistributechildsexual abuseimagery,oftenformonetarygain.

It’sheart-breakingtoreveal,again,thatin2022we’veseenincreasesinthe numberofreportswhichincludeimagesandvideosofthesexualabuseof childrenaged7-10.Andthatsexualimagerycreatedofchildrenwhentheyare online,ofteninthesupposed‘safespaces’oftheirbedrooms,nowaccounts foralmostfourineveryfivereports.

Thisismy12thyearleadingtheIWFandIamimmenselyproudofeverything wehaveachievedandhowwehavegrowntoenableustotackletheproblem, butthere’sabsolutelynosatisfactioninknowingthatweareseeingmoreand morechildrenbeingabusedandthattheyaregettingyounger.

AttheIWFwe’vealwaysbeencarefulnottodescribeindetailwhatweseeas wedon’twanttoupsetpeople,butwe’restartingtobelievethatwehaveto startbeingmoreupfrontandhonestabouttheextentoftheabusewefind,as thepublicneedstorealisethatwearetalkingaboutsevenyearolds,naked, insertingitemsintotheirvaginasunderthedirectionandcoercionofnasty,

SusieHargreavesOBE,ChiefExecutiveOfficerofIWF

manipulativeindividuals.Thechildrenaretotallyunawarethatthishasbeen recordedandwillbesharedtimeandtimeagainontheinternetbytheir abusers.Andthetruthisthatitcanaffectanychildfromanybackgroundasall youngchildrenleftunsupervisedwithacamera-enableddeviceandaninternet connectionareatrisk.

Thisiswhyweneedtodoeverythingwecanasasocietytoworkwith partnersacrosstheworldtostoptheabusehappeninginthefirstplace. Webelievethatthisispossibleandcanbeachievedbyhavingthree fundamentalpillarsinplace:(i)properlegislationandwell-resourcedlaw enforcement,(ii)techcompaniesdoingeverythingpossibletopreventthe uploadanddistributionofimagessotheycan’tbesharedand(iii)a programmeofeducationandawarenessraisingforbothchildrenand parents/carerssothattheyunderstandthedangersandhowtokeep themselvesandtheirchildrensafeonline.

Butwewon’tgetthereifwedon’tworktogetherandputtheneedsofchildren first.Thisiswhywearestandinginsolidaritywithourchildprotectionpartners toopposetheintroductionofend-to-endencryptiononplatformswithout therebeingthenecessarytechnically-possiblechildsafeguardsinplace. Likewise,wehavebeenworkingcloselywithcolleaguesacrosstheUK GovernmenttoensurethattheOnlineSafetyBilldoeswhatitsetsouttodo andmakestheUKasaferspacetobeonlineandaspartofthat,protectthe criticalworkoftheIWF,aswithoutusitwillbechildrenwhowillsuffer.

Empoweringchildren,andthosewhocareforthem,isanabsolutepriority,and afterthefirstfullyearofoperatingReportRemovewithourNSPCCpartners, we’veseenhowboys,manyaged16-17,aremostoftenreportingsexual imagesofthemselvestous.Casesofsexuallycoercedextortionarerising amongthisgroup,ascriminalsseektoextortmoneyfromtheirvictims.Report Removeisclearlyneededbyyoungpeopleandithasimmensepotentialtobe replicatedinothercountries.

TheworkoftheIWFisateameffortandeverysinglememberofstaff, regardlessoftheirrole,playstheirpartandalwaysgoestheextramiletodo whatevertheycantostoptheseimagesbeingcirculated.That’sbecausethey

knowthateveryimageisarealchildwhohasbeenabusedinthemosthorrific way.

Wewon’tstopuntileverysingleimagehasbeenremovedfromtheinternet becausechildrenneedtoknowweareouttherefightingtheircorner.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson

“Childsexualabuseisaheinouscrimewithlifelongconsequencesforthe victims.Theonlinespaceoffersnewopportunitiesforoffenderstogroomand abusechildrenandtoexchangechildsexualabusematerial.Weneedastrong response.Targetedandrobustpreventionplaysakeyroleinprotecting childrenagainstchildsexualabuseandexploitation.Thenewproposalfora Regulationtopreventandcombatchildsexualabusefocusesfirstand foremostonpreventionbyensuringthatdigitalspaceshavethenecessary protectionstokeepchildrensafefromharmandtostopthedistributionof childsexualabusematerialthatfuelsdemandfornewabuses.

Aneffectivefightagainstthiscrimerequiresacomprehensive,multistakeholderandglobalapproach,withtoolstofacilitatereporting, investigationsandassistanceandsupporttovictims.TheInternetWatch Foundationplaysakeyroleinfinding,reportingandremovingonlinerecords ofchildsexualabuse.ThisIWFreportindicatesthatthethreatofchildsexual abuseonlineisontherise,notablythroughtheincreasein“self-generated” contentwhichfrequentlyresultsfromgroomingandsextortion.Thereport providesimportantevidencetohelppreventandcombatthesecrimes.”

Imagecredit:photographerClaudioCentonze,EuropeanUnion2023

Minister for Safeguarding, Sarah Dines MP

OnlinechildsexualabuseisanappallingcrimethattheUKGovernmentis committedtostampingout,workingalongsideindustryandcivilsocietybothin theUKandglobally.

Worryingly,thescaleandseverityofonlinechildsexualabusehasincreased yearonyearasevidencedbyIWF’sannualreports.Thisyearisnoexception. The2022reportshowsthevolumeofdetectedchildsexualabusematerialhas outpacedthatoflastyear.Therehasalsobeena60%increasein7-to-10year-oldsappearinginthesehorrificimages.

TheTacklingChildSexualAbuseStrategy,publishedinJanuary2021,setsout theUKGovernment’slong-termambitiontotackleallformsofchildsexual abuse,whetherittakesplaceonlineorofflineinthefamilyhome,institutions, orcommunities,inthiscountryoroverseas.

SincethepublicationoftheStrategy,wehavemadeprogressongroundbreakinglegislation,suchastheOnlineSafetyBillandthePolice,Crime, SentencingandCourtsAct2022.Wehavealsoinvestedintheworld-leading ChildAbuseImageDatabase,whichishelpingtoincreasetheefficiencyof effortstotacklecasesofonlinechildsexualexploitation.TheInternetWatch Foundationhasmademeaningfulcontributionstothesesuccesseswiththeir

continuedengagementontheOnlineSafetyBillandstrengtheningthepotency oftheChildAbuseImageDatabasewiththeirhashsharingproject.

Recently,IvisitedtheInternetWatchFoundation’sheadquartersandwas impressedbytheworkthattheydo.Forexample,thedevelopmentand maintenanceoftheReportRemovetool,whichisgivingchildrenan opportunitytoreclaimcontroloverharmfulimageryofthemselvesshared online.Ormorerecentlytheintroductionoftheground-breakingchatbotin partnershipwiththeLucyFaithfullFoundation,whichwillnotonlydiscourage offending,butalsoencouragethosedisplayingearlysignsofharmfulsexual behaviourstoseekhelp.

IamgratefulfortheInternetWatchFoundation’scontinuedcollaborationin ourmissiontonotonlymakingtheUKthesafestplaceintheworldtobe online,buttomaketheinternetasaferplaceforeverybody.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology,

The Rt Hon Michelle Donelan MP

IamdelightedtowelcometheInternetWatchFoundation’sannualreportfor 2022,whichhighlightstheircrucialroleinprotectingchildreneverydayfrom thehorrificextentofchildabuseandexploitationonline.

TheInternetWatchFoundation’shighlydedicatedteamremainsatthe forefrontoftherapiddetectionandremovalofchildsexualabuseonline throughtheuseofcutting-edgetechnology.Theinformationinthisreport offersinsightstoGovernment,onlineservicesandorganisationsgloballyon theprevalenceofcontentandadviceonhowwecanprotectchildren.Thisis especiallycrucialatatimewhenwearelegislatingfortheUKtobecomethe safestplaceintheworldforchildrenonlineviathenewlystrengthenedOnline SafetyBill.

SinceItookcontroloftheOnlineSafetyBill,Ihaveaddednewchildprotection measuresthatmaketheBillasawholeevenmorerobustforchildren–showingthatwithoutdoubt,theUKiscommittedtoprotectingchildrenonline.

TheInternetWatchFoundation’ssupportforourworktostrengthentheBillfor childrenhasprovenincrediblyvaluable,andwewillmakesurethatthesevital protectionsareimplementedasquicklyaspossible.

Becausefundamentally,IbelievethattheUKhasachoicetomakewhenit comestothewayourchildreninteractwiththeonlineworld.Eitherweallow thepowerforchildren’sonlinelivestorestwithsocialmediagiants,orwe applyourlongstandingnormsandvalueswhenitcomestochildrenby interveningtoprotectthem.Myfirmview,andIamsureyourstoo,isthatwe mustlegislatenowtoensurethelatterisputintolaw.Transparency, accountabilityandrobustprotectionsforchildren–thesearetheprinciples thatweareputtingintolawonceandforall.

Backed-upbyanindependentregulatorwithunprecedentedtoolstohold socialmediacompaniestoaccountforfailingintheirdutiestoprotectchildren, wewillbeonastrongpathwaytoachievingthegoalsoftheInternetWatch FoundationandoftheGovernment:toprotectchildren.

ButIwanttobeclearthatIdonotseetheOnlineSafetyBillasasilverbullet totheissuesthatchildrenfaceonline.Infact,Iwantthistobethefirststepin awiderpackageofactionacrossGovernmentthatwillmeanfuture generationsofchildrenneverhavetoexperiencesomeoftheappallingcontent documentedbytheInternetWatchFoundationinrecentyears.Iam determinedtoensurethatweneverlosefocusorbecometooselfcongratulatory,butinsteadremainconstantlyvigilanttothethreatsposedby aneverchangingonlineworld.

ThisreportreinforceshowcriticaltheInternetWatchFoundation’sroleisto makingtheUKthesafestplaceintheworldtobeonline,andIthankthe InternetWatchFoundationfortheircontinuedvitalwork.

The Annual Report 2022

Our role in the UK

Safer Internet Centre

UKSaferInternetCentreDirectors,WillGardnerOBE,EmmaHardy,DavidWright

TheUKSaferInternetCentre(UKSIC)isaleadingglobalpartnershiphelpingto maketheinternetagreatandsafeplaceforeveryone.

Weprovidesupportandservicestochildrenandyoungpeople,adultsfacing onlineharms,andprofessionalsworkingwithchildren.

AbridgebetweenGovernment,industry,lawenforcementandsociety,weare theengineoftheonlineprotectionlandscapeintheUK,dealingwithboth preventionandresponse.

Weareunique.Formedofthreeforemostcharities,Childnet,InternetWatch FoundationandSWGfL,weworktogethertoidentifythreatsandharmsonline andthencreateanddelivercriticaladvice,resources,educationand interventionsthathelpkeepchildrenandyoungpeople,andadults,safe.We

The Annual Report 2022 (j)IWF

shareourbestpracticesacrosstheUKandgloballyandweworkalongside30 othercentresacrosstheEuropeancontinent.

In2022,Nominet,theofficialregistryforUKdomainnames,steppedupto supporttheUK’sonlinesafetysectorbyfundingthisworkfollowingtheUK’s departurefromtheEU.Priorto2022,wehadbeenfundedbytheEuropean CommissionastheSaferInternetCentrefortheUK.

Wefocusourworkaroundfourfunctions:

Anawarenesscentrewhereweprovideadviceandsupporttochildren andyoungpeople,parentsandcarers,schools,andthechildren’s workforce.

Threehelplineswhichprovidesupporttoprofessionalsworkingwith childrenandyoungpeoplewithonlinesafetyissues,andsupporttoall adultsfacingissueswithharmfulcontentandnon-consensualindecent imageryonline.

Ahotlinewhichprovidesananonymousandsafeplacetoreportand removeonlinechildsexualabuseimagesandvideoswherevertheyare foundintheworld.

Avoicetoyoungpeople:WeoperateaYouthAdvisoryBoard,andwe nurtureyouthparticipation,providingafocusonyouthvoicetogive youngpeopleagencytomakeadifferenceintheirschoolcommunities.

UKSICistheproudcoordinatorofSaferInternetDayintheUK.

TrendsandData

Our Hotline Director: Children deserve more

ByChrisHughes

AsanotheroperationalyearintheHotlinecloses,anewonequietlyand seamlesslybeginsintheHotlinewithoutfanfareorfuss.

AswithallNewYear’sresolutionsorendofyearreports,dateandtime markershelpusreflectandmeasurewhatweachievedandgivesusfocusto considerourgoalsandambitionsfortheyearahead.

Iamfortunatetoheadupanexceptionallydedicatedteamofanalystswho, eachyear,committodoingajobthatischallengingatbothapersonaland professionallevel;theirworkrequiresresilience,courage,andaselflessness thatfewofusareexpectedtofaceinourdailyjobs.

WeshouldallrightlycelebratetheworkoftheAnalystsandContent

Assessors;however,thesadtruthisthataseachnewyearquietlystarts,we knowthattherewillinevitablybemuchmoretodointheyearahead,with manymorechildrenforthefirst-timebecomingvictimsofonlinesexualabuse whiletheirimagesarepubliclytradedandsharedandtreatedasacommodity.

Theinsightsandstatisticsprovidedinthisreportareimportantforthevery reasonthateachstatisticrepresentstheunderservedandabhorrentabuseor exploitationofachildbyanadult.

Ihaveasingleaskofeveryonereadingthisreport;itissimplythatin2023we shouldallfindreasonsforwhywecanandshoulddomore.Weshouldnot settleorbecomfortablewiththeideathatbecausewearedoingsomething, wearedoingenough.

Excellentandvaluedworkisbeingdoneacrossdifferentsectorsbydifferent stakeholders,andthatistobeapplauded,butletusallaspiretoraiseour gamein2023.Ourchildrendeservenothingless.

The Annual Report 2022 Reports analysis

In 2022

We assessed a webpage every one-and-a-half minutes.

Every two minutes, that webpage showed a child being sexually abused.

Peoplereporttousatiwf.org.uk,orthroughoneofthe50ReportingPortals aroundtheworld,inmultiplelanguages.Allreportsareassessedatour headquartersintheUK.Wealsoactivelysearchtheinternetforchildsexual abuseimagery.Wecallthis,‘proactivesearching’.

375,230reportswereassessedbyIWF(4%increasefrom2021):

o375,153werereportsofwebpages,and

o77werereportsofnewsgroups

255,571URLs(webpages)wereconfirmedascontainingchildsexualabuse imageryhavinglinkstotheimageryoradvertisingit(1%increasefrom 2021).EachURLcouldcontainone,tens,hundredsoreventhousandsof individualchildsexualabuseimagesorvideos.

Additionally,17newsgroupreportswereconfirmedascontainingchild sexualabuseimagery.

NoreportswereconfirmedasUK-hosted non-photographicchildsexualabuseimagery(prohibitedimages).

Weusetheterm‘actioned’toindicateareportwhichwasfoundtocontain childsexualabusematerial,whichwethereforetookanumberofactivesteps toremovefromtheinternet.

YoucanreadmoreaboutUK-hostedandglobally-hostedchildsexualabuse material.

The Annual Report 2022

Thischartcomparesproactivelysourcedreports(whereouranalystssearch forcontent)andthosereportswhichcametousviaexternalsources.

Thischartshowsabreakdownoftheexternalsourceswhichreportintousand reportnumbersfromeachsource.Thefivesourcesare:Public,Police, Member,OtherandHotline.

The Annual Report 2022

External reports - % which accurately led to child sexual abuse imagery (as a% of reports assessed for that source)

Chartshowingthepercentageofreportswhichwereactionable(contained childsexualabusematerial)fromeachexternalsource.Thefivesourcesare: Public,Police,Member,OtherandHotline.

Publicreportsourceaccuracy

126,334reportswereassessedbyourHotlinewhichcamefromthe public.26%(29%in2021)ofthesereportscorrectlyidentifiedchildsexual abusecontent.Thisfigureincludesnewsgroupsandduplicatereports(where thesamecriminalURLhasbeenreportedmultipletimes).

Note:Eachyear,anumberoftheseareadvertsorlinkstochildsexualabuse material.

BandC.

• Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity.

• Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

Our quality-assured hash data

Ahashisatypeofdigitalfingerprint,orstringvaluethatidentifiesapicture ofconfirmedchildsexualabuse.

Eachhashiscompletelyunique.Onceanimagehasbeenhashed,itcanbe recognisedquickly.Thismeansthousandsofcriminalpicturescanbeblocked fromeverbeinguploadedtotheinternetinthefirstplace.

Bytheendof2022,theIWFhadhashed1,663,106individualimagessince 2016.In2021welaunchedourTaskforcefollowingsomefundingwereceived fromThorntodothiswork.Youcanreadmoreaboutthisandourpartnership withtheUKGovernment’sChildAbuseImageDatabasehere.

The Annual Report 2022

Thischartdetailsuniquehashesofchildsexualabusesplitbyageandseverity (category).ThemajorityofhashesinbothcategoriesAandBareofchildren aged7-10yearsold.

Thischartshowstheuniquehashesofchildsexualabusesplitby severity(category)ofabuseandsexofthechild.Mostofthehashedimages acrossallseveritycategoriesdepictgirls.

Analysis of IntelliGrade hashes; sexual activity metadata

Thischartprovidesmoredetailontheexactnatureoftheabuseseeninan imagewhichhasbeenhashedbyouranalystsusingourbespoke software,IntelliGrade.YoucanreadmoreaboutIntelliGradehere.

Analysis by age Overview

Thischartprovidesathree-yearlookatthenumber,andproportion,ofchild sexualabuseURLsidentifiedbyIWFanalystssplitbyageoftheyoungestchild seeninanyimageuponthatURL.

Overthepastthreeyears,childrenaged11-13aremostoftenseen,howevera 10percentagepointdecreasewasnotedin2022,comparedto2021.Wealso noteda13percentagepointincreaseinthenumberof7-10yearoldchildren.

The Annual Report 2022

0-2 years: Babies and toddlers

Everyyear,weseeagreaterproportionofCategoryAimages–showingthe mostsevere,sadisticformsofsexualabuse–involvingbabies,toddlersand evennewborns.In2022,wealsocontinuedtoseemanyCategoryBimages, suggestingthatinalmostallimagesofinfants,anabuserispresent.

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B. Source:

3-6 Years old: Young children

Youngerchildrencontinuetobeabusedandexploitedbycriminalsfor commercialgain:wesawahighproportionofICAPwebsitesusingvideosof36-year-oldsto‘advertise’thesaleofchildsexualabuseimages.

ICAPsitesrepresentanewmethodologyofcommercialchildsexualabuse websiteswhichwediscoveredin2022.YoucanreadmoreonICAPsiteshere.

3-6 year olds - severity of abuse

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

3-6 year olds - sex of victims

The Annual Report 2022 (i)IWF

7-10 Years old: Pre-pubescent children

In2022,wesawa60%increaseinthenumberofimagesincludingchildren aged7-10yearsold.Asever-youngerchildrenbecomemoretech-awareand activeonline,theybecomemorevulnerabletogroomingandabuseby strangers–evenintheirownbedrooms.

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

11-13 Years old: Older children

Asinpreviousyears,wesawmoresexualabuseimagesofchildrenaged1113thanofanyotheragegroup.Olderchildrencanbecuriousabouttheonline worldandkeentoexplore.Unfortunately,adultabusers–sometimes pretendingtobechildrenthemselves–exploitthisbymanipulatingchildren intoperformingsexualactsoncamera,viaasmartphone,tabletorlaptop.In 2022,wesawa14%decreaseinimageryofthisagegroup.

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category 8: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

14-15 Years old: Younger teenagers

Girlsareespeciallylikelytobetargetedandabusedonline;withinthisage group,girlsaccountfor95%ofthechildrenwesaw.Theabusedoesn’tstop whenthechildlogsoff–ifimageshavebeencapturedandsaved,theycanbe sharedacrosstheinternetagainandagain.Hashinghelpsprevent revictimisationbyidentifyingimagesastheyareuploaded.

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

The Annual Report 2022

16-17 Years old: Teenagers

IncreasingnumbersofteenagersareusingReportRemovetoflagintimate imagesandvideostousthathavebeensharedonlinewithouttheirpermission. Theseareoftencasesofsexually-coercedextortion,whereanimageisstolen fromthechildandmoneyisdemandedinexchangeforthatimagenotbeing distributed.

Weknowthatsexuallycoercedextortionforfinancialgainseemstobemore prevalentwithboysratherthangirls.Boysaretypicallyluredintowhatthey believearemutualexchangesofsexualimageswhereboysmistakenlybelieve theyaresharingimageswithagirlorolderwoman.

Empoweringchildrentoreclaimcontroloftheirimagesalsohelpsusremove imageswherethechild’sagemightbeunclearwithoutverification.

LearnmoreaboutReportRemovehere

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B. Source·

16-17 year olds - sex of victims

Analysis by sex Overview

In2022,asinpreviousyears,mostofthechildsexualabuseimageswesaw showedgirlsonly.Wedid,however,observeanincreaseinthenumberof imagesofboysthisyearcomparedto2021.Imagesincludingbothgirlsand boyscontinuedtomakeupasmallproportionofthecriminalimageswetook actionon;someofthesewerecommercialinnature,shotinastudio,and otherswerewherechildrenhadbeengroomedandcoercedwiththeirsiblings orfriendsintheirbedroomsathome.

AfocusedanalysisofReportRemovedataisavailableherewhichshowshow boysaremakingthemajorityofreportstoremovesexualimageryof themselves.

Analysis by sex over the past three years

The Annual Report 2022

By sex

In2022,wesawanincreaseintheproportionofCategoryAimages:these mostsevereimagesaccountedfor20%ofthechildsexualabuseimageswe actioned,upfrom18%in2021and17%in2020.Here,wetakeacloserlook athowthecategoryanalysisappliestochildsexualabusereportsfeaturing girlsandboysseparately.

Youcanreadmoreaboutself-generatedimageryhere.

Boys - severity of abuse

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not fatting within categories A or B.

In2022,2.5%or6,253reportsshowedthesexualabuseofboysonly.Thisis a137%increaseon2021(2,641reports).Withinthissubsetofdata,wecan seethatahigherproportionoftheimageryofboysshowsCategoryAchild sexualabusecomparedtogirls:31%forboyscomparedto19%forgirls.

Girls - severity of abuse

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

In2022,96%or242,989reportsshowedthesexualabuseofgirlsonly–an increaseof1,045reportson2021.Whilethecategoryofthismaterialin2022 and2021issimilar,CategoryChasdecreasedfrom63%(152,821)in2021,to 56%(135,328)in2022,whichisa7%decrease.CategoryAhasincreasedby 2%,andCategoryBby5%,showingtheseverityoftheabuseintheimagery identifiedhasincreased.

Self-generated

Wesawasignificantincreaseinthenumberof‘self-generated’childsexual abuseimagesofboys.‘Self-generated’imagesofboysaccountedfor31% (831)ofallboys’childsexualabuseimagesin2021,whilein2022thisroseto 56%(3,504)–anoverallincreaseof25%.

In‘self-generated’CategoryAimages,wehaveobservedhousehold objectslikehairbrushesandpensbeingusedtopenetrate,withchildrenoften beingcoercedtodosobyaremoteabuser.

Youcanreadmoreaboutself-generatedimageryhere.

Tosupportyoungpeopletoremovesexualimagesorvideosofthemselves online,theIWFandNSPCCdevelopedtheworld-firstReportRemovetool whichwaslaunchedinJune2021.

TheNSPCC’sChildlineserviceensuresthattheyoungpersonissafeguarded andsupportedthroughouttheprocessandtheIWFassessesthereported contentandtakesactionifitmeetsthethresholdofillegality.Thecontentis givenauniquedigitalfingerprint(ahash)whichisthensharedwithinternet companiestohelppreventtheimageryfrombeinguploadedorredistributed online.

Thissolutionprovidesachild-centeredapproachtoimageremovalwhichcan bedoneentirelyonline.Theyoungpersondoesnotneedtotellanyonewho theyare,theycanmakethereportatanytime,andfurtherinformationand supportisalwaysavailablefromChildline.

YoungpeoplecreateorsignintoaChildlineaccountwhichthenallowsthemto receiveChildlineemailupdatesabouttheirreport.Youngpeoplecanusethis emailserviceforongoingsupport,andtheycancontactaChildlinecounsellor viaonlinechatandviatheirfreephonenumber.Theycanalsoaccessrelevant informationandadvice,self-helptoolsandpeersupportontheChildline website.

In2022,wereceived187reportsthroughtheReportRemovetool.

Wewereabletotakeactionon101reports.

Analysisof‘actionable’reports

Thesearereportswhichwereassessedascontainingimagesand/orvideosor wereURLscontainingsuchimagesandvideosofchildsexualabuseaccording toUKlegislation.

Ofthe101reportswhichweassessedascriminalimages,mostcontained CategoryCimages(69%),andmoreboysreportedtousthangirls,withboys makingup73%ofthetotal.

The Annual Report 2022

Thischartprovidesanoverviewofthesexofthechilddepictedintheimages orvideossentthroughtheReportRemovetool.Most–almostthreequarters–camefromboys.

Sexuallycoercedextortion

Aquarter(24%or18reports)ofthe74actionablereportsfromboyswere becauseofsexuallycoercedextortion.We’veseenhowboysaretypically luredintowhattheybelievearemutualexchangesofsexualimageswhere theymistakenlybelievetheyaresharingimageswithapeerorolderperson.

Weknowthatsexuallycoercedextortionisbehindthesespecificreportsfrom boysastheyhaveincludedevidenceofthiswithintheirreport.Thiscouldbea chatlogwheretheyoungpersonhasdemonstratedthattheyarebeing coercedorwhereacollageofimageshasbeencreatedbytheoffender, overlaidwiththreateningtext.Nosuchevidencewaspresentagainstanyof theimagesofgirls.

Report Remove - overview by sex

Thischartshowshowboysaged16and17representthebiggestusergroupof theReportRemoveservice.

MostimagesandvideosreportedbyyoungpeoplethroughReportRemove (whichareassessedaschildsexualabusematerial)fallintoCategoryC,witha notableamountofimageryofboysassessedasCategoryB.

CategoryA:Imagesinvolvingpenetrativesexualactivity;imagesinvolving sexualactivitywithananimalorsadism.

CategoryB:Imagesinvolvingnon-penetrativesexualactivity.

CategoryC:OtherindecentimagesnotfallingwithincategoriesAorB.

'Self-generated' child sex abuse Overview

In2022,wecontinuedtoseeahighproportionof‘self-generated’imagery. Thesearechildsexualabuseimagesandvideoscreatedusingsmartphonesor webcamsandthensharedonline.Insomecases,childrenaregroomed, deceivedorextortedintoproducingandsharingasexualimageorvideoof themselvesbysomeonewhoisnotphysicallypresentintheroomwiththe child.Theseimagesaremostoftentakeninahomesetting–achild’s bedroom,orabathroom.

Anoteonterminology:

Weregardtheterm‘self-generated’childsexualabuseasaninadequateand potentiallymisleadingtermwhichdoesnotfullyencompassthefullrangeof factorsoftenpresentwithinthisimagery,andwhichappearstoplacethe blamewiththevictimthemselves.Childrenarenotresponsiblefortheirown sexualabuse.Untilabettertermisfound,however,wewillcontinuetousethe term‘self-generated’as,withintheonlinesafetyandlawenforcementsectors, thisiswellrecognised.

Inourcharts,andexplanationsinthissection,wehavealsousedtheterm ‘abuserpresent’todescribeimagesandvideoswhichare‘not“selfgenerated”’.Pleasenotethat‘abuserpresent’meansthatweassessedthis contentasbeingcreatedwhentheabuserwasphysicallypresentintheroom withthevictim/sortheirlikeness,butthisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthat theabuserwasdepictedintheimageryitself

Trends

Childrenaged11-13continuetoappearmostfrequentlyin‘self-generated’ imagery,asinpreviousyears.Weobservedasteepincrease,however,inthe proportionofthistypeofimageryincludingchildrenaged7-10in2022,up 129%from2021.

Ofthe255,571webpagesactionedduring2022,overthreequarters (199,363or78%)wereassessedascontaining‘self-generated’imagery.

Thisisa6percentagepointincreaseon2021when72%ofactioned reports(or182,281)wereremote-captured.

oThisrepresentsa9%increasein‘self-generated’reportsfrom2021 to2022intermsofthenumberofactionedwebpages.

Key trends

Morekeytrendsofnote:

In2022,127,732reportswhichincluded‘self-generated’imageryincluded an11–13-year-oldgirl.

oThisrepresents50%ofallactionedreportsand64%of‘selfgenerated’childsexualabusereports.

We’vebeenmonitoringasteepincreaseinthisimageryfeaturing7–10year-olds.In2022,63,057‘self-generated’reportsfeatureda7–10-yearold,whichisa129%increaseon2021.

oThisisanincreaseof1,058%since2019when5,443reportsof ‘self-generated’childsexualabuseofthisagegroupwerefound. ThisexponentialincreasecoincideswiththeglobalCOVID-19 pandemicwhenchildrenwerespendingmoretimeonlinethanusual andvirtualsocialisingbecamethenorm.

In2022,61,754reportswhichincluded‘self-generated’imageryincluded a7–10-year-oldgirl.

oThisrepresents24%ofallactionedreportsand31%of‘selfgenerated’childsexualabusereports.

*Pleasenotethat‘abuserpresent’meansthatweassessedthiscontentasbeingcreated whentheabuserwasphysicallypresentintheroomwiththevictim/sortheirlikeness,but thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheabuserwasdepictedintheimageryitself.

The Annual Report 2022

Thischartshowsthetotalnumberofreportswhichincluded‘self-generated’ contentsplitbyageofthechilddepicted.

Thistableprovidesadetailedbreakdownofthereportswhichinclude‘selfgenerated’childsexualabusematerialbysexandage.

The Annual Report 2022

Unidentified:ThisverysmallgrouprelatestoURLsdisplayingmorethanone imageonthepage(oftenmanythousands)andwhereoneormoreofthose imagesisself-generated.Fortheseweareunabletoattributeaspecificage grouptothemultiplechildrenseen.Someofthesemayalsobeyounger childreninvolvedinself-generatedimagesofsiblingabuse.

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

The Annual Report 2022

7-10 years: Pre-pubescent children

2022wasthefirstyearthat‘self-generated’childsexualabusereportsof710-year-oldsweremoreprevalentthancontentcreatedwhentheabuserwas physicallypresentintheroom.

7-10 year olds - types of abuse

7-10 year olds - sex of victims

11-13

11-13 year olds - sex of victims

14-15 year olds - sex of victims

16-17 year olds - sex of victims

Geographical hosting: URLs

Wherearewebpagesbeinghosted?

YoucanfindoutabouttheUKhostingsituationhere.

Whenwe’veassessedthatanimageorvideofailsUKlaw,ouraimistogetit removedfromtheinternetasfastaspossible.Todothis,weperformatrace ontheURLtoidentifythelocationofthephysicalserverthatthecontentis hostedon.Thistellsuswhichpartnersinwhichcountryweneedtoworkwith. Whenthecontentisremovedfromthephysicalserver–itssource–thenwe canbesurethattheimagehasbeenremovedfromanysites–likewebsites, forums,orimagehosts–thatcouldbelinkingtoit.

“Iwouldalsoliketosharewithyouthatprettymuchallofthereports thatyouhavecontributedwithsofarhasplayedvitalrolesinanumberof investigationsaswellasanumberofconvictionsrelatingtoCSAMand CSE.Ithasplayedakeyroleingettingsearchwarrantsapprovedinmany ofthecases.Anumberofthesesearchwarrantsandinvestigationshas alsoledtothediscoveryofmoreaggravatedcrimesagainstchildren includinghandsonsexualoffences.Weareverythankfulforyoursupport inthesecases.”

SwedishPoliceAuthority

The Annual Report 2022 {i)IWF

Numberofreports(URLSs)bycountry(fromnumber11onwards)

Source: IWF Annual Report 2022

Note:101instancesrefertoReportRemovewhereimages/videoshavebeen directlyreportedtoIWFandarethereforenotonlineandcannotbetracedtoa location.

In2022wecontinuedtoseeadecreaseintheproportionofchildsexualabuse URLsbeinghostedintheNetherlands,downto32%from41%in2021.The proportionofchildsexualabuseURLshostedintheUSalsodroppedin2022, downto15%from21%in2021.

URLshostedintheSlovakRepublicaccountedfor12%ofthechildsexual abuseimagerywetookactiononin2022;thisistheresultoftargetedwork focusingononeparticularimagehostwebsite.HostingservicesinHongKong, Bulgaria,MalaysiaandThailandhavealsobeenabusedinasimilarwaywhich isdiscussedinourForumsnapshotcasestudy.

Almostthreeineveryfive(59%)childsexualabusereportsweretracedto hostingservicesinEUMemberstates.

Somecriminalchildsexualabusesites,especiallythosecreatedspecificallyto shareimageryforcommercialgain,aredynamicanddeliberatelymovetheir hostingfromcountrytocountrytoavoidremoval.Wecontinuetotrackthese siteswhentheychangelocationandseektotakethemofflinewhereverthey go.Thistrendhasledtoseveralnewcountriesenteringthetop10hoststhis year.

Whatcanwedoaboutremovingthiscontent?

Wearecommittedtoplayingourpartgloballyintheremovalofcontent.

Weconstantlyinnovatetoachievethis.We’vesetup50ReportingPortals aroundtheworldaspartofourworkinpartnershipwiththeGlobalFund toEndViolenceAgainstChildren.Thishasenabledustodevelopvitallinks withotherNGOs,governmentsandpoliceservicesgloballytoremovethis content.

IntheEUweworkcloselywithEuropolandInterpolandtheLanzarote CommitteeoftheCouncilofEurope.Europolhaveproducedanumberof threatassessmentswhichhavereferencedmanysimilartrendswehave identifiedincludingariseinself-generatedcontent.

AsakeyorganisationwithintheINHOPEnetwork(InternationalAssociationof InternetHotlines)weworkcloselywithallotherINHOPEhotlinesaroundthe

worldtoensurethatwealertourpartnerswhenwefindchildsexualabuse contenthostedintheircountry.IWFReportingPortalsareincludedunderthe INHOPEumbrella.

Additionally,we“chaseup”ourpartnersifthiscriminalimageryisnot removedquickly.

ViewtrendsanddatafortheUK.

The Annual Report 2022

Geographical hosting: Domains

Unique domains

Thisisthesecondyearthatwehavepublishedtwocontrastingsetsofdomain analysisdata,withaviewtoprovidingadditionalinsightsintothedistribution andhostinghotspotsofchildsexualabuseimagesandvideosacrossdifferent countriesandinternetinfrastructures.

Specifically,whileURL-leveldataindicatesthenumberofreportsandactions requiredtonotifyandremovethiscontent,thatgranulardetailmayobfuscate theprevalence,ornumber,ofuniquedomainsidentifiedtobehostingchild sexualabusematerialwhenanalysedindifferentcontexts.

Forclarity,thediagrambelowsetsoutthedomainnamingconventionsused throughoutthisreport.

The Annual Report 2022

Numberofuniquesecondleveldomainsbycountry (fromnumber11onwards)

The Annual Report 2022

Thedatarepresentedaboveshowsthenumberofuniquewebsiteswe identifiedtobehostedineachcountry.Eachuniquewebsitewasonlycounted onceandattributedtoitshostcountryatthetimeofassessment.Ifawebsite changeditshostingcountrylocationatanypointduringtheyear,thenthesite wascountedineachofthelocationsitwasencountered.Thesenumbersdo notrepresenttheindividualnumberofURLsorreportsthatwereactionedfor eachuniquewebsite.

Domain analysis

DomainDistribution:Inadditiontotheincreasednumberofreportsactionedin 2022,wealsoobservedanincreaseinthenumberofuniquesecond-level domainshostingchildsexualabusematerial.

Thenumberofuniquesecond-leveldomainsincreasedby17%from4,614 asidentifiedin2021to5,416in2022,representinganincreaseof802 domains.

Ofthe5,416uniquesecondleveldomainsidentifiedascarryingchild sexualabusematerial,overhalf(3,057or56%)wereclassifiedasbeing dedicatedtothesaleand/ordistributionofchildabuseimagesforfinancial gain.

Forclarity,thediagrambelowsetsoutthedomainnamingconventionsused throughoutthisreport.

The Annual Report 2022 ~IWF

Websitescontainingchildsexualabusecontentwereregisteredacross:

209topleveldomains(anincreasefromthe162TLDsidentifiedin2021)

97genericTop-LevelDomains(gTLDs),and

112countrycodeTopLevelDomains.

Domainsweretracedtohostingin55countries.

Fordomainanalysispurposes,thewebpages ofwww.iwf.org.uk,www.iwf.org.uk/report,and www.iwf.org.uk/what-we-doarecountedasonedomain:iwf.org.uk

NewGenericTop-LevelDomains,orgTLDs,continuetobereleasedtomeet thedemandandconsumerchoicefornewandexcitingtopleveldomain names,newTLDswilloftensparkinterestanddemandfromspecificsectors whichseektoaligntheirwebsiteorbrandtoaTLDe.g.,.bizisanattractive alternativeTLDchoiceforthebusinesssector.

OurmonitoringofTLDsshowsthattherehavebeensomesignificantchanges inthetop10listingsthisyear.Notablechangesincludethe.comTLDthathas historicallyalwaysappearedatthetopofourmostabuseddomainrankings,in 2022,itdroppedtosecondposition,areductionof63%representing83,241 fewerreportsthaninthepreviousyear.

The.pwTLDwasthemostabusedTLDin2022with94,083confirmedreports. Itwaspreviouslylisted25thin2021when294childsexualabusereports wereidentified.Itsdramaticincreaseinabuseisdirectlyrelatedtoseveral imagehostsitesabusingthe.pwTLDandaccountedfor93%ofallthechild sexualabuseimageryidentifiedon.pw.

ThecountrycodeTLD.yt(FrenchregionMayotte)waspreviouslyunlistedin 2021,andsubsequentlyrosetofourthpositionasadirectresultofnefarious activityinvolvingtwoimagehostsites.Ironicallyneitheroftheimagehost siteswerehostedinFrance,butweretracedtobehostedintheNetherlands, RussianFederationandTaiwanatvariouspointsintheyear.

Whatcanwedoaboutthisabuse?

OurDomainAlertshelpourMembersinthedomainregistrationsectorprevent theabuseoftheirservicebypreventingcriminalsregisteringwebsiteswitha knownCSAMabusehistorybeingreregisteredonadditionalTLDs.

Domainanalysisbysecond-leveldomain

“www.badsite.com”–inthisURL,the‘.badsite’isthesecondleveldomainof thewebsiteaddress.

Wehavepublisheddataforthesecondconsecutiveyearwhichgivesadditional insightintothescaleandnatureofdomainsabusedtodistributechildsexual abusematerialacrossdifferentTLDs.

Weareabletoshowthenumberofuniquesecond-leveldomainsfoundtobe carryingchildsexualabusewheretheyaregroupedbytheTLDonwhichthey resided.

Second-levelTLDsspecificallyregisteredandusedforthecommercial distributionofchildsexualabuseshouldrightlybeapointoffocusandwe continuetoresearchadditionalwaystolocateandremovethesitesand disrupttheregistrationofnewsites.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

Byunderstandingmoreabouthowsecond-levelTLDsarespecifically registeredandusedforthecommercialdistributionofchildsexualabuse material,wecanmakethemapointoffocusforourwork.Wecontinueto researchnewwaystolocateandremovethesesitesanddisruptthe registrationofnewsitesforthispurpose.

Top-level domain hopping

WhatisTop-leveldomainhopping?

“Top-leveldomainhopping”iswhenasite(e.g.,‘badsite.ru’)keepsitssecondleveldomainname(‘badsite’)butchangesitstop-leveldomain(‘.ru’),in essence,creatinganewwebsitetypicallywithdifferenthostingdetailsbut retainingthesitesidentifiable‘namebrand’.From‘badsite.ru’,multiple additionalsites‘badsite.ga’,‘badsite.ml’or‘badsite.tk’couldbecreated.This allowsinstancesofawebsitetopersistonlineaftertheoriginalhasbeentaken downwhilekeepingthewebsiterecognisableandeasytofindbyfollowersof thesite.

319dedicatedcommercialsecond-leveldomainswereidentifiedtohave hoppeddomainatleastoncein2022.

PleasenotethatnoTLDinstancesfrompreviousyearswerecountedinthis analysis,meaningthattobeincludedinthestatistics,thesiteshadtoexiston aminimumoftwodifferentTLDsin2022.

The Annual Report 2022

Top

125second-leveldomainswerefoundtohavehoppedonce;

14hoppedtwice;

fourhoppedthreetimes;

onehoppedfivetimesinabidtoremainonlineandactiveinthe12-month monitoringperiod.

19countrieswereidentifiedashostingdomainhoppingsites.

Wefirstworkwithpartnerstoensurethatthesiteisremovedfromthe internet.Everysubsequenthop,however,thenrequiresanewactionbyour analyststore-enforcetheprevioustakedown(s)byactioningthesiteagainon thenewTLD.

Whentrackingthehostingcountry,wenotedthatsomesitesoftenchanged TLDbutremainedhostedintheoriginalhostcountry;othersitesshoweda preferencetochangehostingcountryaftereachTLDdomainchange, sometimesreturningtotheoriginallyidentifiedhostingcountryafteraperiod ofhostingelsewhereunderadifferentTLD.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

Domainsareallocatedandmanagedbyinternetregistriesandregistrars.Our ongoingworkinthisareawillenableustoidentifydomainsexploitingthe

10 hosting locations used by TLD hopping sites (by number of domains)

legitimateTLDmarketplace.WecontinuetoworkwithMemberstonotonly identifyandremovecriminalsitesbutoffernewpreventativemeasuresto guardagainstdomainshoppingtounsuspectingTLDs.

Wehopetoinvolvemoreregistrarsandregistriesinthefightagainstthis exploitativepracticein2023,andtothisendwehavestartedaservicefor Memberswhichprovidesanactive‘Watchlist’ofsecondleveldomain stringswhichcanbeusedtopre-warnregistriesandregistrarsofdomainsthat haveaprovenhistoryofdomainhoppingexclusivelyinthesaleandor distributionofchildsexualabusematerial.Thenewlistserviceisliveand availabletoMemberswishingtoaccessthisnewimportantdataset.

The Annual Report 2022

Site types

In2022,asinpreviousyears,imagehostswerethewebsitetypemost frequentlyabusedbyoffendersdistributingchildsexualabuseimagery.These sitesprovide“storage”forimageswhicheitherappearondedicatedwebsites oraresharedwithinforums–anotherheavilyabusedsitetype.

Whenouranalystsseethistechnique,theyensurethewebsiteistakendown andeachoftheembeddedimagesisremovedfromtheimagehostingservice. Bytakingthistwo-stepaction,theimageisremovedatitssourceandfromall otherwebsitesintowhichitwasembedded,evenifthosewebsiteshavenot yetbeenfoundbyouranalysts.

Cyberlockerscontinuetobeexploitedbycriminalssharingchildsexualabuse imagery.Thesehigh-storagesitescanbeusedtoshareoneimageorvideoata time,oroneormorefoldersthatcouldpotentiallycontainhundredsofimages orvideosunderasingleURL.

Imagehostsalsoallowvastquantitiesofimagestobeindexedandsaved, howeverthesearenotaseasilyaccessibletothepublicasanimagehostor cyberlockersite.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

Ouraward-winningIWFHashList,launchedin2016,canhelpimagehoststo tacklethisabusebypreventingtheupload,sharingandstorageofknownchild sexualabuseimagesandvideos.

Aswellasremovingimagesandvideosfromforums,chatsitesandother platformswherechildsexualabuseimageryisshared,ouranalystsensurethat thesefilesaretakendownatsourcebylocatingtheimagehostsiteswhere theyareoftenstored.Thispreventsfurtherdistribution.

Paidforvsfreehostingservices

228,927URLs(90%)werehostedonafree-to-useservicewhereno paymentwasrequiredtocreateanaccountoruploadthecontent.

Intheremaining10%ofcases,thecontentwashostedonapaid-forservice, oritwasnotpossibletotellwhetherthehostingwasfreeorpaidfor.

The Annual Report 2022

Commercial content

Wedefinecommercialchildsexualabuseimageryasimagesorvideosthat wereseeminglyproducedorbeingusedforthepurposesoffinancialgainby thedistributor.

Ofthe255,571webpagesweconfirmedascontainingchildsexualabuse imageryin2022,28,933(11%)werecommercialinnature.Thisisthesameas lastyear,whenwetookactionagainst28,390(11%)commercialwebpages.

Ofthecommercialsitesweactioned,weidentifiedanumberofdifferent paymentmethodsbeingoffered.

In2022weactioned1,025reportswherecommercialsiteswereofferinga paymentoption.

Acrossall1,025reportswefound1,366instanceswherecryptocurrencies wereofferedasatypeofpayment.Thesewereattributedto495uniqueURLs.

Unfortunately,duetorestrictionsonsomesites,notallpaymentmethods werevisible.40%ofthosewithnopaymenttypevisiblewereICAPsites.

FindoutmoreaboutourICAPsiteshere

Whatcanwedoaboutit?

Wemonitorandresearchanynewtrendswehaveobserved.Sharingthis intelligencewithoursisterhotlinesandlawenforcementagenciesmeansthat websitescanberemovedanddistributorscanbeinvestigated.

Anypaymentinformationdisplayedonthesecommercialwebsites–including cryptocurrencydetails–iscapturedandsharedwithourpartnersinthe financialindustry.Thishelpstopreventmisuseoftheirservicesanddisrupt furtherdistributionofthecriminalimagery.

We’veidentifiedanewwayinwhichchildsexualabusematerialisbeing distributedwhichincreasestheriskofinternetusersstumblingacrossthis criminalmaterial.

These“invitechildabusepyramid”sites,orICAPsitesforshort,incentivise userstosharelinkstochildsexualabusesitesfarandwideina“scattergun” approachwithspamslinksonavarietyofplatformssuchassocialmediaand chatroomsamongothers.

Thecriminalsrunningthesitesbenefitfromincreasedwebtrafficand additionalincomewithoffenderspotentiallybuyingfurthervideosofchild sexualabuseandcreatingtheirownlinkstospamtoothers.

WefirstidentifiedthesesitesinJuly.Thousandsofreportshavenowbeen receivedbyourhotlinewhicharelinkedtothismethodofdistribution.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

We’vebeenbriefinglawenforcement,oursisterhotlinesandtechnology companiestoalertthemtothisnewwayofdistributingchildsexualabuse materialwhichputsinternetusersatgreaterrisk.Wewillcontinuetomonitor thiscloselythrough2023.

Dark web reports

Whatarehiddenservices?

Hiddenservicesarewebsiteshostedwithinproxynetworks–sometimesalso calledthedarkweb.Thesewebsitesarechallengingasthelocationofthe hostingservercannotbetracedusingnormalmethods.

In2022weidentified1,067newhiddenservices,upfrom931inThisisan increaseof15%.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

WeworkwiththeUK’sNationalCrimeAgencytoshareintelligenceonanynew hiddenserviceswhicharedisplayingchildsexualabuseimagery.Withthis intelligence,NCAcanworkwithnationalandinternationallawenforcement agenciestoinvestigatethecriminalsusingthesewebsites.

Commercial dark web reports

Since2016,wehaveseenarisingtrendin‘commercial’hiddenservices–dedicatedwebsitesofferingchildsexualabuseimageryforsale.

Ofthe1,067newly-identifiedhiddenservicesdistributingchildsexualabuse imageryin2022,848(79%)wereassessedasbeingcommercial.Duetothe anonymousnatureofhiddenservices,thesecommercialwebsitesincreasingly acceptpaymentinvirtualcurrenciesaswellascreditcards.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

WeworkwiththewiderpaymentsservicesindustryandourVirtualCurrency AlertshelpourMembersinthevirtualpaymentssectortoidentifypayments whichareassociatedwithchildsexualabuseimagery.Wecontinuetomonitor trendsinthesepaymentsandsharethisintelligencewithourpartners.

Commercial disguised websites

Whatarecommercialdisguisedwebsites?

Since2011,wehavebeenmonitoringcommercialchildsexualabusewebsites whichdisplaychildsexualabuseimageryonlywhenaccessedbya‘digital pathway’oflinksfromotherwebsites.Whenthepathwayisnotfollowed,or thewebsiteisaccesseddirectlythroughabrowser,legal(usually pornographic)contentisdisplayed.Thismeansitismoredifficulttolocateand investigatethecriminalimagery.

In2022,weuncovered5,525websitesusinga“digitalpathway”tohide childsexualabuseimagery.

Ofthe28,933commercialwebsitesoverall,3,074(11%)werealsousinga digitalpathway.

Itrepresentsadecreaseof42%onthe5,258commercialdisguised websitesidentifiedin2021.

Wesawasteepincreaseinimagehostsitesusingthis‘digitalpathway’in 2021.In2022,wefoundthatthistrendhasdecreased.Mostofthedisguised siteswetookactiononwerecommercialinnatureanddedicatedtodisplaying childsexualabuseimagery.

Disguisedwebsiteshavealsocontinuedtoexploit‘top-leveldomainhopping’ toavoiddetectionandremainonline.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

Weactivelymonitorthetechniquesusedbythesewebsitesinordertouncover thecriminalmaterialinordertogetitremoved.Wealsoshareintelligencewith ourpartnerstoenablethemtodothesame.

UK hosted child sexual abuse imagery

UKhostingvolume

TheUKhostsasmallvolumeofonlinechildsexualabusecontent.

In2022,640URLsdisplayingchildsexualabuseimagerywerehostedin theUK,anincreaseof68%from381URLsin2021.

TheUKhosted0.25%ofallchildsexualabuseURLswhichIWFidentifiedin 2022.

433reportsrelatedtomultipleURLsidentifiedonthesamedayand attributedtoonehost.

In465cases,thecriminalcontenthadalreadybeenremovedbythetimewe receivedauthorisationfromthepolicetoinstigateitsremovalorithadmoved hostingcountryalready,leavinguswith175URLstotakeactionon.

32takedownnoticesrelatingtothe175URLsweresenttoUKhosting companies(wemightsendonenoticeforseveralwebpages).

UKChildsexualabusecontentremovalinminutes

Wehavetoactquickly.Thelongeranimagestayslive,themoreopportunity thereisforoffenderstoviewandshareit,andmoreharmiscausedtothe victims.

Inpartnershipwiththeonlineindustry,wepushtosecuretherapidremovalof thiscontent.The‘takedown’clockticksfromthemomentweissueatakedown noticetothehostingcompany,tothetimethecontentisremoved.

Fastestremoval:3minutes

UK child sexual abuse content removal time in minutes

16companies’servicesintheUKwereabusedtohostchildsexualabuse imagesorvideosduring2022.

WeissuetakedownnoticestoUKcompanies,whetherthey’reinIWF membershipornot.

AllcompanieswhowereabusedwerenotIWFMembers.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

Weuseaminimumofthreepiecesoftechnologytotracethehostinglocation, thenissueatakedownnoticetothecompanywhichishostingthematerial. Lawenforcementareconsultedduringthisprocessandevidenceisretained forinvestigation.

AlthoughtheURLnumbersarerelativelysmallcomparedtotheglobal problem,it’simportantthattheUKremainsahostileplaceforcriminalstohost thiscontent.

Non-photographic child sexual abuse

IWF’sremitincludestheidentificationandremovalofUK-hostednonphotographic(ProhibitedImages)childsexualabuseimagesandvideos.

In2022,wetookactionon285reportsofnon-photographicchildsexual abuseimagery(a22%increasefrom2021).However,afterourassessment, noneofthesewereconfirmedasUK-hostedcontent.

Attheendof2022,324uniqueURLsofnon-photographicchildsexualabuse imagerywerelistedontheNPIURLList.18IWFMemberssubscribetothis service.

Whatcanwedoaboutthis?

TheUKisoneofthefewcountriesintheworldwherenon-photographicchild sexualabuseimageryiscriminal.

IfwefindthiscontenthostedintheUK,weissueanoticetothehosting providerwhoremovesit.Thishasn’thappenedintheUKsince2016.However, thistypeofcontentdoesexistonlineandifUK-hosted,wouldfailUKlaws.

Technologycompanieswanttheflexibilityofbeingabletoblockandfilteritto preventtheircustomersfromstumblingacrossit.

Therefore,wecreatedtheNPIList,whichcontains,drawings,computergeneratedimagery(CGI)andothernon-photographicrepresentationsofchild sexualabusewhichishostedoutsideoftheUK.

TheURLsprovidedintheNPIListarethosedeemedatthetimeofassessment tobreachUKlegislation,specificallySections62to69oftheCoronersand JusticeAct2009.Severalinternationaltechnologycompaniesusethislistto protecttheirservicesfortheircustomers.

IWF URL List

Weprovidealistofwebpagescontainingchildsexualabuseimagesandvideos hostedoutsideoftheUKtocompanieswhowanttoblockorfilterthemfor theirusers’protection,andtopreventtherepeatedvictimisationofthe childrenintheimages.Weupdatethelisttwiceaday,removingandadding URLs.

During2022:

Thelistwassentacrossallsevencontinents.

Atotalof230,922uniqueURLswereincludedonthelist(a14%increase on203,234in2021).

Onaverage,1,029newURLswereaddedeachday(1,001in2021).

Thelistcontainedanaverageof11,488URLsperday(a108%increase from5,526in2021).

CaseStudies

What it is like to lead the IWF Hotline ,

AsIWFHotlineManager,TamsinMcNallyguidesandsupportsabusyteam whohavetheverydifficultbutimportantjobofviewingandassessingchild sexualabuseimageryeveryday.

Inarecentblog,sheprovidesinsightintoatypicalworkingday,whereshe managesbothour14-strongteamofHotlineAnalystswhoassesspublic reportsandensurecriminalcontentisremoved,aswellastheTaskforceteam of14whoviewandgradehundredsofimagesadayfortheUKGovernment’s ChildAbuseImageDatabase.

Herdaysarevariedandinvolveherbeingabletoswitchfrompresenting meetingsforexternalpartners,suchaslawenforcementwithwhomwework closely,toprovidingadvicetoadistressedmemberofthepublicwhohas stumbledacrosschildsexualabusecontentonline.

Intheblog,Tamsin,whohasbeenwiththeIWFformorethaneightyears, stresseshowimportantitisthatshelooksafterthewelfareofherteam,whom sheregardsassomeofthebestpeopleshehaseverworkedwith.

Tamsinsays:“Peoplesaythatthisisoneofthehardestjobsoutthere.It’snot rightforeveryone,butthepeopleworkingheremakemesoridiculouslyproud. Theyarefantasticpeopledoinganincrediblydifficult,butimportant,job.”

ReadTamsin’sbloginfull.

Forumsareonlinediscussionwebsiteswhereindividualscanpostmessages, images,andreplies.Thepostsaregenerallyorganisedbyathreadortopic.

ForumsgenerateavastamountofworkforIWFanalystsbutthisisnotoften apparentwiththedatawepresentinourannualreport.

In2022,ourdatashowsthatjust5%ofchildsexualabuseimagerythatthe IWFfindsareonforums.Butforumspullinavastnumberofimagesand videosfromothertypesofwebsitesknownasimagehostingsites andcyberlockers.Thisoftendisguisesthefactthatforumsareamainculprit forspreadingchildsexualabusematerialontheinternet.

Forumsarealsocomplex:Theirremovalisdifficultastheyoftenhostlegal contentaswellasillegal,hencewecannotsimplygetaforumremovedat domainlevel,meaningtheentireforumwouldberemoved.Inaddition,they movehostregularly,makingpermanentremovalverydifficulttosecure. Therefore,wedecidedtocarryoutthissnapshotstudy.

Thepurposeofthestudywastorecordinformationaboutforumswhilethe forumswerestill“live”andtoprovideaninsightintothecomplexityofgetting childsexualabusematerialonforumsremoved.Wehopethattheinformation hereisusefultoothersworkinginthisspace.

ForumsarecommonlyreportedtotheIWFbythepublic Inaddition,analystsoftenvisitforumstoproactivelysearchforchildsexual abusematerial.

Arguablyforumsprovidethebiggestsourceofallproactiveworkgiventhe volumeofimagesfoundoneachpage.Forumsaremassive;therewill bemultipletopicswithinaforumandeachtopiccontainsmanythreadsand eachthreadcancontainmanypagesallfullofimagesandlinkstopotential childsexualabusematerial(CSAM).Unlessbothsexesareinvolvedinsexual activityinanimage,contentofboysandgirlstendtoremaininseparate placeswithinaforum.Oftenaproportionoftheforumwillcontainlegal content,whichmakesitdifficulttoremovethewholeforumseeingasthe

wholeforumisnotactuallyillegal.Therefore,analyststendto“action” (performasetoftaskswhichleadtotheremovaloftheimages/videos)at threadlevelopposedtothedomainlevel.

Forumsthatarededicatedtohostingchildsexualabusematerial predominatelycontainself-generatedcontent.Thisiswheretheabuserisnot physicallypresentwiththeirvictimbutisoftendirectingorcoercingthechild intoperformingsexualactsviawebcam.Occasionallychatscanbeseen betweenthechildandpersonattheotherendofthecamera.

Howforumsareabused

Veryoften,apersonabusingaforumforchildsexualabusematerialwill uploadimagesthatarehostedelsewhereonadifferentdomain,suchasan imagehostingsite.Inaddition,beneatheachimage,alinkispostedwhich appearstocontainthewholevideototheimagethattheviewerhasbeen presentedwith.Thislinkishostedonadifferentdomaintooanditoften requirespaymenttodownloadthevideo.

WhenIWFanalyststakestepstoremovetheillegalimagesandvideoshosted withinaforum,theyneedtotracewhereintheworldthecontentishosted.If thecountrywherethecontentishostedhasahotline,theinformationissent tothathotlineinthefirstinstance.Ifthecountrydoesnothaveahotline,the analystpassesthisinformationontolawenforcement.Inbothinstancesifthe contentremainslive,andtheIWFhasnotbeeninformedofanongoingpolice investigation,theanalystwillsendanoticetothecompanythatishostingthe contentonitsserversrequestingforthecontenttoberemoved.

Methodology

Forumchoice:

Threeforumsthatareknowntohostchildsexualabusematerialwere examinedduringthestudy:

Forum1ispredominantlyknownforhostingimagesofboys.Thesexual abuseimageryonthisforumwasremovedondaytwoofthestudy(this couldhavebeenasaresultofIWFaction–thisisexplainedfurtherdownin thestudy)andbeforeenoughdatahadbeencollected.

Forum2ispredominantlyknownforhostingimagesofgirls.Thissexual

The Annual Report 2022

abuseimageryonthisforumwasalsoremovedondaytwoofthestudy,but alargequantityofdatahadalreadybeencaptured.

Inbothinstancestheforumsremainedlive,howeveralltheimagesweretaken down/removedfromthepage.Thelinkstothevideospostedundereach imageremainedonthepage.However,accesstothesevideosrequires paymentandtheIWFdoesnotgobeyondpaymentbarriers,thereforethelinks werenotaccessibletodownload.Thisdidnotposeaprobleminthedata collectiongiventhattherearesomanyforumsdedicatedtohostingchild sexualabusematerial.Hence,onemoreforumwaschosentocontinuewith thedatacollectionasenoughdatahadalreadybeencollectedofgirls.

Forum3wasaddedondaythreeofthestudy,whichhousedsexualabuse imageryofboysandthiswassubstitutedforforum1toenableenoughdata tobecaptured.

Timespentonforumexamination:

Onehourperday,atroughlythesametimeeachday,wasspentexaminingthe pagesofthechosenforums.Thistookplaceoverafour-dayperiod.However, pleasenotethatthiswasjustthreedaysfortheboyforumsduetothecontent becomingunavailableandtherebeinglesscontenttofind.Werecordeda varietyofinformationtohighlightwhatgoesoninforumsandshowhowthey operate.Thisinformationincludes:

Dateandtimechecked;

Threaddateandtime;

ForumURL;

Sexofchild;

Agecategories;

Self-generatedornot;

Websiteoftheimagesbeingpulledintotheforum;

Websitethatthevideolinkcomesfrom;

Ifapremiumisrequiredtodownloadthevideo;

Paymentmechanismstodownloadvideos;

Howmanychildrenseenintheimages;

Iftheoffenderispresentintheimage;

Theroominthehousewheretheabusetookplace;

Hostingcountryoftheforum;

Usernameoftheuserpostingcontent;

IftheimageshavebeenseenbeforebytheQualityAssurance(QA)Officer;

Anythingofnotethatstoodoutintheimages.

AbouttheQualityAssuranceOfficeratIWFwhocollectedthedata

TheIWFstaffmemberwholedthestudyhasworkedattheIWFfor14years. ShewasanInternetContentAnalystfor13yearsbeforebecomingaQuality AssuranceOfficer.Bothrolesrequiretheassessmentandcheckingoflarge volumesofchildsexualabusematerialonadailybasis.Duringthattime,she hasseenmanyvictimsofchildsexualabuse.

Toplevelfindings

Analysisofcontentshowingboys:

53imagesofboyswererecorded,58%oftheimagesofboyswereofaselfgeneratednature.

Moreboyswereseenengaginginsexualactivity,inaself-generated setting,whileotherchildrenwerepresent.

Inboys,themostfrequentageseenwas11-13years.

Boysoftenappeartobeunder-representedinthedataintermsofvolume, howevertheyaremorelikelytobeassessedasCategoryAandCategoryB (moreseverecategories).

42%ofboyshadnotbeenseenbeforebytheQualityAssuranceOfficer whocollectedthedata.

Analysisofcontentshowinggirls:

80imagesofgirlswererecorded,100%oftheimagesofgirlswereofa self-generatednature.

Girlsaremorelikelytoengageinself-generatedcontentwithnoother childrenpresent.

Girlsaged7-10werethemostfrequentlyseen.

84%ofthegirlshadnotbeenseenbeforebytheQualityAssuranceOfficer whocollectedthedata.

The Annual Report 2022 (i)IWF

Categoriesofchildsexualabuseimageryfound:

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B.

Not actionable: Reports where the person depicted could not be confirmed as a child.

Fourpercentoftheimageswereborderlineonage.Forthepurposesofthis study,thiswascategorisedas“Adult?”.PleasenotethatAdult?hasbeen representedintheagechartbelow.Adult?meansthatthereisthepossibility oftheperson(s)intheimagebeingunder18yearsold,butanaccurate assessmentonagecouldnotbeascertained.Weseevastlyfewerboysin forums;however,thecategoriesofboysaregenerallymoreseverewhichis alsoreflectedinthedatacollection.

Source: IWF Annua! Report 2022 Forums

Category A: Images involving penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Category B: Images involving non-penetrative sexual activity

Category C: Other indecent images not falling within categories A or B

Child none: Where a child has been identified in the image but the image is not found to contain child sexual abuse

Adult?: There is the possibility of the person(s) in the image being under 18 years old, but an accurate assessment on age could not be ascertained.

Source J\lv"F Annual Report 2022

The Annual Report 2022

Childnoneisnotanactionablecategory,butithasbeenrepresentedinthe datahereas21%ofthegirlswereseenappearingtobeintheearlystagesof revealingthemselvestothecamera,forexamplethegirlmayhavebeeninher underwearorstartingtoundresswhichdoesnotmeetthethresholdforfurther action.

Wewereconfidentthat97%oftheimagesseencontainedchildren.

The Annual Report 2022

Forum case study: ages of girls seen across the forum

A,d1,j\t7cThe<e1StheposJlbol,tyofthepe,son(s)or1&1e>u,iaget,e,na~18)'Nl'Sold. buten.oi:vr•teil$$M$IT>e01on-,ecouldnotbe~•"9d

Numberofchildrenseeninindividualimages:

72%oftheimagesshowed1boypresentintheimage.

17%oftheimagesshowed2boyspresentinthesameimage.

6%oftheimagesshowed3boysbeingpresentinthesameimage.

Oneimageshowed8childrenpresent(7boysand1girl)howeverthiswas agridimagewheremultipleimageshadbeenmergedintoonelargeimage.

4%accountedforAdult?images(male)

90%oftheimagesshowedgirlsontheirowninanimage

8%oftheimagesshowed2girlsbeingpresentinthesameimage

3%accountedforAdult?images(female)

The Annual Report 2022

case study: rooms where the abuse of girls was depicted

Withtheexceptionofthe‘unknown’category,therewasnotagreatdifference betweengirlsandboysinroomswherethechildsexualabuseimageryhad beencaptured.

Asexpected,the‘bedroom’wasthemostrecordedroom,accountingfor57% fortheboysand41%forthegirls.Thisisnotsurprisinggiventhatmostofthe imageswereself-generatedandthebedroomisthemostlikelyplacethata childwillbealonewithadevice.Ofcourse,somesiblingsmaysharearoom andinoneinstanceachildwasseenontheirdevicesittingonabunkbed.

‘Unknown’wasthenexthighestrecordedroom.Intheseinstances,theroom couldnotbeidentifiedastheseimagestendedtobecloseupshotsofthe child’sgenitalsandnotmuchelsecanbeseenintheimage.Thisaccountedfor 17%fortheboysand31%ofthegirls.

Duringtheexaminationoftheimagery,wewerealsoabletoidentifyother typesofroomswhicharelesscommontosee.Examplesof‘unusualrooms’ foundincludeapublicchangingroom,outsideinafield,ashed,ahallwayand aplayroomwherelotsoftoysandababychangingunitwereidentified.

Self-generatedcontentvsnotself-generatedcontent

Thetermself-generatedindicatesthattheabuserisnotphysicallypresent withthechildandthechildhasbeengroomed,coercedorencouragedinto creatingthecontentthemselves.Itisvitaltorememberthatchildrenarebeing groomedonlineandinstructedtoengageinthisbehaviour.

53imagesofboyswererecorded(51imageswereconfirmedascriminal).

58%oftheimagesappearedtobeself-generatedcontent.

25%oftheimagescontainedtheabuser.

13%oftheimagesdidnotcontaintheabuser,however,didnotappearto beself-generatedcontenteither(abuserpresumedpresenthowever, outsideoftheimage).

4%oftheimageswereAdult?

Outof80imagesofgirlsrecorded(62imageswereconfirmedascriminal) noneoftheimagescontainedanabuserandalloftheimagesappearedtobe self-generatedcontent.

100%oftheimagesofgirlswereself-generated.

Thisisnotsurprisingasmostself-generatedcontentthatweseeisofgirls.

Howforumsoperate

Threeforumswereusedfordatacollection(twoforimageryofboysandone forimageryofgirls).Generally,thepostswereuploadedbythesameuseron eachoftheforumschecked.

Forums,threads,pageschecked: Forum1(boys):Onethreadcheckedover4pages.40imageswerefoundin totalbeforetheforumwentoffline.

Forumtwo(girls):Threethreadscheckedover10pages.73imageswere foundononethread,4imagesonthesecondthreadand3imagesonthethird threadbeforetheforumwentoffline.

Forum3(boys):Onethreadcheckedovertwopages.13imageswerefoundin total.

Theabovedemonstrateshowmanyimagescanbefoundwithinathreadand howpageswithinathreadcanvaryinvolume.Acrossthethreeforums,five threadswerecheckedandreturned133images.

ThirdPartyHosts:

Forum1(boys):Twothirdpartyhostswereidentified.100%oftheimages foundonthepagewerehostedonanexternalsiteknownasanimagehosting site.Thismeanstheimageswerebeingpulledinfromadifferentwebsite.A linkunderneatheachimagewasfound.Thesetypesofsitesareknownas cyberlockersites.Everysingleimagehadalinktoacyberlockersite,which undoubtedlycontainedthefullvideoofthecontent,howeverpaymentwas requiredandthereforethiscouldnotbeaccessedorverified.Thecyberlocker sitewasthesameonethroughoutthethreadschecked.

Forum2(girls):Twothirdpartyhostswereidentified.Onceagain100%ofthe imageswerehostedonanexternalsiteknownasanimagehostingsiteand thereforewerebeingpulledinfromelsewhere.Alinkunderneatheveryimage wasfoundgoingtoacyberlockersite.Onceagain,gainingaccesstothevideos requiredpaymentandastheIWFdoesnotbreachpaymentbarrierswe thereforecouldnotaccessthem.Thecyberlockersitewasthesameone throughoutthethreadschecked.

Forum3(boys):Forum3wasdifferentinthatnoneoftheimageswerebeing pulledinfromanexternalsite.Onthisoccasion100%oftheimagesonthe pageswerehostedonthesamedomainastheforumitself,whichgenerally speaking,isnotcommon.However,twothirdpartyhostswereidentified.Like theothertwoforums,everyimagehadalinkunderneathitgoingtoa

The Annual Report 2022

cyberlockersiteappearingtocontainthefullvideoofthecontent.Thistime2 differentcyberlockersiteswereidentified.

(Pleasenotetheimagehostingsitesandcyberlockersitesweredifferentinall threeforums).

Apartfromafewvideolinkswhichwereoffline,allvideosrequiredpaymentto download.Eachforumofferedmultiplepaymentmethods.Thepayment optionsremainedthesameforeveryvideolinkwithinthatforum,however, variedacrossthethreeforums.Thebelowchartshowshowmanypayment methodswereofferedforeachforum.

Theabovehighlightstheoverallpaymentoptionsbeingofferedtomakea paymenttodownloadthevideosandcoversthefollowingpayment mechanisms:banktransfer,creditcard/debitcard,mobilepayment,money transferservices,virtualcurrencies,andvirtualgiftcards.Thegraphbelow illustratesthisfurther.Pleasenotethisisacrossallthreeforums:

The Annual Report 2022 (i)IWF

Thegraphshowsthatmoneytransferserviceswerethemostcommon paymentmechanismtobeofferedasameansofpayment.

Wecreateahash(digitalfingerprint)oftheimagesthataredisplayedon forums.ThesehashesarethenmadeavailabletoMembersoftheIWFundera strictlicencetoenablethemtostoptheupload,sharingandstorageofimages matchingthesehasheswithintheirplatformsandservices.

Thecomplexityofforumhosting

AlltheforumsexaminedwerehostedineitherHongKongorMalaysia.Content doesnotusuallycomedowneasilyorquicklyineitherofthesecountries,given thatneithercountryhasahotline.Intheseinstances,theIWFanalystwho identifieschildsexualabusematerialwhichishostedinthesecountries notifiestheUK’sNationalCrimeAgency(NCA).

Analystsinourhotlineareallocatedcountriestolookafterandifthecontent continuestostayavailableforaperiodoftimeafternotifyingtheNCA,the analysttheninformsthehostcompanydirectlywiththeintentionthatthehost willtakethecontentdown.Withalloftheseforums,wehadinformedthehost. Therefore,itispossiblethattheimagesonForum1whichhadbeenremoved duringthisstudywasasaresultofouranalyst’sworkinnotifyingthehost.

Forum case study: number of times payment mechanisms were offered across all three forums

Forumshostingchildsexualabusematerialwilloftenappeartoberemoved fromtheinternetbutanalystsknowthatthesearenottrulytakendown,often justfromthemessagethatisreceivedwhenloadingtheURL.Weseetimeand timeagainhow,afterjustafewdays,theforumwillbeliveagainbutthistime withanewhostandperhapsanewhostingcountry.Everycountryhasitsown setoflawsandregulations,andsomehotlineshaveabetterrapportwithlaw enforcementthanothers.Allofthesefactorsinfluencehowquicklyasite hostingchildsexualabusematerialgoesoffline.

Forum1(boys’imagery):ThiswashostedinHongKong.AnIWFanalyst notifiedthehostandrequestedthatthecontentberemovedinearly September2022andtheimageswerenolongeravailableonthepageaweek later.Thelinkswerestillliveonthepage,howeverapremiumaccountwas requiredtoaccessthecontent,meaningthecontentwasbeingsold.

Forum2(girls’imagery):ThiswashostedinHongKong.AnIWFanalyst notifiedthehosttorequestthatthecontentberemovedinearlySeptember 2022andtheimageswerenolongeravailabletwoweeks’later.

Forum3(boys’imagery):ThiswashostedinHongKong.AnIWFanalyst notifiedthehostinmid-September2022.Onthesamedaythehostingmoved toMalaysiaandouranalystcreatedanewreport,itwasthenpassedontolaw enforcement,howeverbeforethenewhostcouldbenotified,theforummoved hostingbacktoHongKongtheverynextday.Thishighlightshowwily operatorsofforumscanbeandhowdifficultitcanbetogettheforumoffline. Thisparticularforumhasbeenaroundforsometimeandfirstactionedbythe IWFinDecember2019.Ithaschangedhostingmanytimesandhasbeen actionedbytheIWFinmanydifferentlocationsallaroundtheworld,most recentlyintheUK.Thesitebecameofflinequicklyduetotheanalysts’ persistenceinchasingupourlawenforcementpartners.

Ageofthepostsontheforums

Forum1(imageryofboys):Thisforumhadpostsdatingbackamonth(atthe timeofdatacollection).

Forum2(imageryofgirls):Allpostscontainingchildsexualabusematerial werepostedinApril/Mayof2022andthereforewereafewmonthsoldatthe

timeofdatacollection.Therearemanymoreimagesofgirlsanditappears thatnewercontentisreadilyavailable.

Forum3(imageryofboys):Thesecondforumfeaturingboyswasdifferent. Halfofthepostsrecordedweretwomonthsoldandtheotherhalfweretwo yearsold.GenerallyspeakingacrossIWF’swork,weseefewerimagesofboys thatweareconfidentindeterminingareundertheageof18years,which meansthatthesameimagesofboysaremorelikelytobere-postedtimeand timeagain.Indeed,inForum3acoupleofimageshaddatesstampedon them;onedatedbackalmost30yearsto1994andtheotheroneto1998.

Imageryofnewvictims

Oftenimagesarereposted,duplicatedandeditedleadingtomultiplecopiesof imagesbeingpostedonline.Consequently,weoftenseeimagesofthesame childrenoverandoveragain.

TheQualityAssuranceofficerwhocollectedthedataforthisstudywas interestedtorecordwhethershehadseenthechildvictimsbefore(seethe sectionaboveabouttheexperienceofthisperson).Basedonthismemberof staff’sknowledge,sherecognisedjust16%ofthegirlsthatwererecorded comparedwith58%oftheboysseen.

Thisdifferenceisnotsurprising,giventhattherearemanymoreimagesofgirls seeninthistypeofabuse(self-generated).Asmentionedbefore,fewerimages ofboysmeansthatthesameimageryismorelikelytobere-postedtimeand time.

Insummary

Thiscasestudywascarriedouttocapturethecomplexityofremovingchild sexualabuseimageryonforums.Ithasalsoprovidedaninsightintothenature ofchildsexualabusematerialfoundwithinjustthreeforums.

ForumsgeneratealargeamountofworkforIWFanalysts.Theremovalof forumsisdifficultastheyoftenhostlegalcontentaswellasillegal,henceitis oftenthethread/pagewhichisactionedratherthanthewholeforumatdomain level.

Inaddition,theymovehostregularly,makingpermanentremovalverydifficult.

Asforumspullinavastnumberofimages/videosfromothertypesof websitesitmeansthatforumsareamainculpritforthewideandglobal distributionofchildsexualabuseimagesandvideosandplayakeyrolein thecontent’smonetisation.

IWFisplayingakeyroleinfinding,removingandhashing(creatingdigital fingerprints)childsexualabuseimagerycreatedbyjailedonlinesexual predator,AbdulElahi.

InDecember2021,Elahiwasjailedfor34yearsfollowingapoliceoperation calledOperationMakedom.Heprolificallyabusedadultsandchildrenonline. Hegroomedhisvictimstoabusethemselves,theirsiblingsandotherchildren, selling“boxsets”oftheabuseonline,accordingtotheNationalCrimeAgency (NCA).

Elahiadmitted158chargesagainst72complainants,althoughthetrue numberofvictimsisestimatedtobenearer2,000,withagesrangingfrom adulttochildrenasyoungaseightmonthsold.

In2021wefoundandeffectedtheremovalof1,600webpagesfeaturing imagesofElahi’svictims.Throughout2022wecontinuedsearchingandfound afurther1,312webpagescontainingimagesofthesameeightvictimsknown tous.Thissignificantamountofchildsexualabusematerialrelatestojusta smallproportionoftheestimatednumberofvictimsinthiscase.Weestimate therearelikelythousandsmoreimagesstilltofind.

Ofthosewebpageswediscoveredin2022:

Almostathird(31%)weregradedCategoryA,themostseriouskindof childsexualabuse,depictingpenetration,sadismordegradation.This illustratesthehorrificnatureofElahi’scrimes.

90%wereimagesofgirls,and

Insevenoutof10instances(70%)theywereimagesofchildrenaged1617yearsold.

Challengeswithverifyingimageryofolderteenagers:

Theagesofolderteensweseebeingabusedonlineareoftenparticularly difficulttodeterminewithoutformalidentificationandageverification.Thanks

toourpartnershipworkwiththeNationalCrimeAgency,wehavethe informationweneedtoidentify–withcertainty–thattheimagesweare findingareofchildvictims.Itthereforeenablesustotakeactiononthose imagesofyoungpeoplethatotherwisemaynotbeidentifiedaschildren.

Duetohowweseechildsexualabuseimagerybeingrepeatedlysharedonline, webelievethatwe’llkeepfindingimagesofElahi’svictimsforyearstocome.

WhilethesuccessfulconvictionofAbdulElahiisgoodnews,sadlyhisarrestin 2018wasn’ttheendoftheabuseforhisvictims.Thosehetargetedstillsuffer astheirimagescontinuetobecirculatedonlineandthisrepeatedtraumacan bedevastatingandlonglasting.

Thiscasehighlightstheimportanceandthepositiveimpactofourworkin helpingtoendthisrevictimisationcyclebyremovingthisimageryfromthe internetandprovidinghashes(digitalfingerprints)toourMemberstoprevent itfromcirculatingfurther.

Category A child sexual abuse

an IWF snapshot study

Preface

InherfinalreportintheIndependentInquiryintoChildSexualAbuse(IICSA), ProfessorAlexisJayOBE,theinquiry’schair,callsforplainandclearlanguage tobeusedwhentalkingaboutchildsexualabuse.Shesaidinheropening statementtothefinalreport:

“Wealsoneedtousethecorrectwordstodescribetheactionsofabusers–masturbation,analandoralrape,penetrationbyobjects–thesewordsarestill notconsideredacceptabletermsbymanyinpublicandprivatediscourse. Everyincidentofabuseisacrimeandshouldnotbeminimisedordismissedas anythingless,ordownplayedbecausedescriptionsoftheabusemightcause offence.”

Sheisright.AnditisthankstoherremarksthatIWFhasdecidedtomakethis datapubliclyavailable,andtodescribewhatwe’reseeingasaccuratelyaswe can.

Ifwecannotbebraveenoughtousetherightwordstodescribethetruehorror ofwhatchildrenarecoercedtodo,howcanweexpectchildrentobebrave enoughtousetherightwordsandtotalktotrustedadultsaboutwhatis happeningtothemonline?

Background

TheIWFhasbeentrackinganincreasein‘self-generated’dataof7-to10year-oldchildren.We’vealsopublisheddataovermanyyearsrelatingtoan increaseintheamountof‘self-generated’childsexualabusematerialinthe formofstudies,andthe2021IWFannualreport.

Weassesschildsexualabusematerialaccordingtothelevelsdetailedin theSentencingCouncil’sSexualOffencesDefinitiveGuideline.The

material of a 'self-generated' nature

IndecentPhotographsofChildrensection(Page34)outlinesthedifferent categoriesofchildsexualabusematerial.

CategoryAisdefinedas:Imagesinvolvingpenetrativesexualactivity; imagesinvolvingsexualactivitywithananimal,orsadism.

CategoryB:Imagesinvolvingnon-penetrativesexualactivity.

CategoryC:OtherindecentimagesnotfallingwithincategoriesAorB.

Inthespringof2022,anIWFanalystassessedavideoofayounggirlwhowas aroundsevenoreightyearsold.Shehadbeenrecordedwhileplayingwithher dollandlyingonherbed.Anonlineabuserappearedtoinstructhertodoa multitudeofinappropriateacts,includingpenetratingherselfand masturbatingwiththehandleofalargesharpknife.Eventoouranalysts, whoseresiliencetothismaterialishigh,itwasviewedasatrulyhorrificcrime. This,coupledwithquestionstoIWFabouthowachild,ontheirown(inmost cases),couldbeseenin‘penetrativesexualactivity’,ledtothisstudy.

Whenachildisengagedinanytypeofsexualactivityeitheraloneorwitha perceivedpeeronwebcam,itcouldbeunderstoodthatthisisduetosexual exploration,howeverthisisnotreflectiveofwhatouranalystsseeintheir work.

Methodology

Datawerecollectedbetween16and22June2022–fiveworkingdays.

WecollatedalltheCategoryAchildsexualabuseimagesandvideoswhich fittedthe‘self-generated’definition.Thisischildsexualabusecontentcreated usingwebcamsorsmartphonesandthensharedonlineviaagrowingnumber ofplatforms.Insomecases,childrenaregroomed,deceivedorextortedinto producingandsharingasexualimageorvideoofthemselvesbysomeonewho isnotphysicallypresentintheroomwiththechild.

CategoryAimagesinvolveoneormoreofthefollowingaspects:

Anythingwhichfittedthisdefinition,withinthetimeframeallocated,was includedinthestudy.

Whiletheterm‘self-generated’indicatesthatthechildiscreatingthecontent themselves,itisvitaltorememberthatchildrenarebeinggroomedonlineand instructedtoengageinthisbehaviour.Noblameshouldbeplacedonthechild.

Results

896instancesofonlinechildsexualabuseimagesorvideoswerefound containingCategoryAcontentofa‘self-generated’nature.

Thisaveragesas179CategoryAimagesaday.

Thisequatesto25CategoryAimageseveryhour(overananalyst’ssevenhourworkingday).

668oftheseimagescontainedchildrenaged11to13yearsold(75%).

184oftheseimagescontained7-to10-year-olds(20%).

44oftheseimagescontained14-to15-year-olds(5%).

Over the course of 5 days, we found Coerced Child Sexual Abuse Images involving penetrative sexual activity and images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Age groups found containing Category A* content

-

14-15 year olds

7-10 year olds

11-13 year olds

Watch Foundation

889images/videoscontainedgirls(99%);

6images/videoscontainedbothboysandgirls;

1image/videocontainedboys.

• We categorise child sexual abuse material A,B or C. Category A being the worst kind of abuse. Category A images involve one or more of the following aspects: penetrative sexual activity; images involving sexual activity with an animal or sadism.

Sex of victims found in images/videos

Watch Foundation

Analysisofpenetrativeobjects

image/video contained boys images/videos contained both boys and girls images/videos contained girls (99%)

Belowisabreakdownofalltheobjectsusedfortheactofpenetrationthat wereseenintheimagesandvideos.Themostcommonobjectwasthechild’s ownfinger(419),followedbyapenorpencil(232),atoothbrush(75),anda hairbrush(39)

Belowisagraphshowingthemostfrequentobjects/typesofabusethatwere seenthreetimesormore.

Internet Watch Foundation

The Annual Report 2022

Theaimofgatheringthedatawastorecordtheobjectsbeingusedfor penetrationpurposesbysearchingforCategoryAcontent.Thereare,however, moreelementstoCategoryAthanjustpenetration,henceimagesinvolving bestialityandsadismwerefound.

Eighteenimagesaccountedforbestiality(thechildwasinvolvedinsexual activitywithwhatappearstobethefamilypet).Tobeclear,intheimages showingbestiality,therewasnopenetrationseen.Animalsweremostoften seenlickingachild’sgenitals.

Therewerefiveimageswhichcontainedsadisticcontent;

Threeimagesincludedpegsbeingusedonthechild’sgenitalsand

Twoimagesshowedthechilddrinkingtheirownurine.

Otherobscureobjectsfoundintheimagesincludedaneggwhisk,alintroller, andaUSBcable.Additionally,penetrationbyanotherchildwasseenonsix differentoccasions.Therewereunknownobjectsfoundintheimages,which showedpenetrationtakingplacebutwerenotclearenoughtoidentifywhat theobjectwas.

Intotaltherewere69differentvariablesrecorded.Pleasenotetherewerenot 69differentobjects,butinsomecasesthechildwouldusemultipleobjects withinthesameimagesetorvideo.Duetothewaythatchildsexualabuse imagesarefrequentlyuploadedanddistributedtomanylocationsonline, someoftheimagesinthisdatasetwillhavebeenrepeated.Imagesare frequentlycopiedandre-postedagainusingadifferentURL.

"It is vital to remember that children are being groomed online and instructed to engage in this behaviour."

IWF Hotline Analyst

The Annual Report 2022 ~IWF

Hostinganalysis

Whenwe’veassessedthatanimageorvideofailsUKlaw,ouraimistogetit removedfromtheinternetasfastaspossible.

Todothis,weperformatraceonthecontenttoidentifythephysicalserver thatthecontentishostedon.Thistellsuswhichpartnersinwhichcountrywe needtoworkwith.Whenthecontentisremovedfromthephysicalserver–its source–thenwecanbesurethattheimagehasbeenremovedfrom anywebsitesorforums,orimageboardsetc,thatcouldbelinkingtoit.

Thetablebelowshowsthecountriesinwhichtheimagerywashosted.Tobe clear,thisdoesnottelluswhichcountrythevictim(s)oroffender(s)werein, norfromwhichcountrythecontentwasuploadedonline.

Source: IWF Annual Report 2022

Reallifeexample

Thisisatypedextractofavideofoundinthedata.Itinvolvesayounggirl beingdirectedonwebcam.

Fromherbedroom,ayoungBritishgirladdressesherwatchersandasksthem toputanyquestionstheymighthaveinthechatbelow.Sheapologisesfor havingtomovetoadifferentplatform,butshewasbannedbefore.Shetells theviewersshedoesnotliketouseSnapchatasherfriendsareonthere.She isaskedherageseveraltimesthroughoutthevideoandstatesthatsheis14 yearsold,howeverlooksaround12/13yearsold.

Somebodyaskshertoshowherfeetandasksherifshecanwearwhitesocks, shesays,“Youhaveafootfetish?”andgiggles.Somebodytellshershe is“Reallyprettyandhot”andsherespondswith“Thankyou”.

Sheisaskedtoshowhergenitalsoncamera:“Releaseyourp***y”

Theyaskhertofollowthembackandshereplies,“I’llfollowyouallbackafter thelivestream.Whatdoyouwantmetodo?”sheasksthenpausestoread theirresponsesandtellsthemsheneedstoclosethecurtains.Sheisaskedto showhernakedbodyandshetakeshershortsandunderwearoff.

“Whatelse?”sheasks,andthenbendsoverandshowshergenitals.She says,“Isthatbetter?”andpullsthecameraclosetohergenitalsand masturbatesandpenetratesherselfwithherfingerasinstructed.Shedances, exposesherself,masturbatesandpenetratesherselfforseveralmoreminutes andthenasks,“Whatwouldyoulikemetodo?”andshepenetratesheranus withherfinger.

“Areyoureadyforthefinalpiece?”sheasksandshowsherbreastswhile dancingandtouchingherself.Afterawhileshesaysshemustgetchangedbut hasapairofdirtyknickersandshowsthemtothecamera.Shesays,“Tryand getthisupto5k”andpointstothebottomofthescreen.

“I’m14”shesaysagain,“SorryI’vegottogo”butsaysshewouldstayifshe canget5,000viewers.Shedrawsthelivestreamtoaclosebysaying“Don’t

forgettosend,butIwon’tbesendingbackasIdoitonlivestream.”Sheends thevideobythankingherviewersforjoining.

Theabovevideoisacommonexampleofwhattheanalystsfindregularly.The primaryconcernforthisgirlisthenumberofviewersshehasandwishesto have.Wecanonlyassumethatthechildhasbeengroomedintobehavingthis way.Indeed,thetextsuggeststhisisnotherfirsttime,butratheracommon occurrence.Itwasnotrevealedinthevideohowmanyviewersshehad;her targetwas5,000peoplewhichisalargenumberofpeopletobeviewingchild sexualabusematerialandfurthermorebeactivelyaskingthechildtocarryout theseactsoncamera.Ultimatelythisgirlisbeinginstructedtobehavethisway andforonepurpose–theviewers’sexualgratification.

Summary

Thissnapshotstudywascarriedouttorecordtheobjectsthatwesawchildren useforpenetrationpurposeswhenstreamingonlinewithanabuser.Itisnot uncommonforIWFanalyststoencounterthistypeofchildsexualabuse.Itis thefirsttime,however,thatwehavepublishedthissortofdetailabout penetrativesexualactivity.Wehopethatthishelpstoinformothers’work:that ofotherhotlines,policymakers,technologycompanies,andlawenforcement andourpartnersinthethirdsectorwhoworktirelesslytoprotectchildren online.

Numerousobjectswererecorded,themostcommonbeingthechild’sown finger.Itcouldbearguedthatthisbehaviourispartofthematurationprocess toexploresexuality.

However,thisiscertainlynotalwaysthecase,especiallygiventhat184 imagesincluded7to10yearolds.Furthermore,thevideotranscriptshows thatthechildwasdoingthisforfollowers,perhapslikesorincentives.When onlyachild/childrencanbeseeninthecontent,itcanbeeasytoforgetthat thereisalwayssomeonewatchingontheotherendandofteninstructing childrentocarryouttheseacts.

Harnessing innovative tech to advance our mission

2022wasatumultuousyearfortheinternet,onethatshowedhowtheIWF’s missiontoseeaninternetfreeofchildsexualabuseisnevermoreimportant.

Developmentssuchasthemetaverse,rapidgrowthincryptocurrenciesand decentralisation,greaterlevelsofencryption,andongoingeffortsaroundthe worldtointroduceregulationstocombatonlineharms,haveresultedina constantlyevolvingandshiftinglandscape.

Wehaveseenexcitingnewdevelopmentsinonlinesafetytodetectand preventabuseatscale,suchasnewmachinelearningtoolsandprivacy preservingfilteringtools,butalsoworryingtrendsandtechnologieswhich havethepotentialtocreatenewharmsandputmorechildrenatrisk.

Asthescaleoftheproblemcontinuestogrow,theIWFtechnologyteamhas developednewtoolstoenableourexperthumananalyststofindandassess morecontentwithgreateraccuracythaneverbefore,includingleveraging GPU-accelerated(GraphicsProcessingUnit)computervisiontechniquesto clusternearduplicateimages,webprocessingtoolswhichcaninstantly highlightknownchildabuseimagesassoonastheyappearonthepage,and todetectandsplittheindividualframesusedtomakecollagesorgridimages.

InadditiontosupportingthecoreworkofourHotline,thetechteamhavealso beenworkingwithIWFMembersonbespokeprojectstodevelopandtestnew innovativetechnology,leveragingtheIWF’suniqueexpertisewithchildsexual abusecontentandrichtaggeddatasets.

Theteamhasworkedonandsupportedincredibledevelopmentssuchasthe IWFreThinkChatbot,theSafetoWatchimageclassifier,andtheprivacy preservingCyacombsafetytool,solutionswhicharepushingtheboundariesof whattechnologycandotodetectanddisruptthedistributionandaccessof childsexualabusematerialonline.

We’recollaboratingwiththeUKGovernment’sChildAbuseImageDatabase –CAID–tosupportlawenforcementandhelpthetechsectorfindand removecopiesofknownchildsexualabuseimagesonline.

IWFistheonlynon-lawenforcementbodyintheworldwithaccesstothe ChildAbuseImageDatabase(CAID)aspartofacollaborationtosupportlaw enforcement,andstoptheupload,sharingandstorageofknownchildsexual abuseimagesonline.

Thiswork,inturn,benefitssexuallyabusedchildrenallovertheworld. In2022,oursixhighlytrainedgraderswereincreasedto14,plustwoquality assurancestaff.Theyhaveassessed,gradedandhashednearlytwomillion imagesfromthedatabase.

Whenwehashanimage,wecreatea‘digitalfingerprint’.Asstandard,wehash allimagesusingmultiplealgorithms,andduetoourabilitytostorethe imagery,wecanretroactivelyaddnewalgorithmsastheyaredeveloped, keepingpacewiththetechnologyasitadvances.

Wetakeprideinthequalityofourworkandtheexpertiseofourstaff.And we’vegoneoverandaboveinthegradingoftheseimagessothatwe’re enrichingeachimageandhashwithadditionalmetadata.

Thismeanswe’retaggingtheimagewithextradescriptionssuchasthe estimatedageofthevictimandthetypeofsexualabusethatwastakingplace. Bytaggingthemwiththisextrainformation,itmakesthemcompatiblewith otherlegaljurisdictionsaroundtheglobe,whichisadditionallyuploadedback intoCAID.Bydoingthiswork,italsomakesiteasierfortechnologycompanies todeploythesehashesthroughtheirservicesindifferentterritories.Thiswork meanswehavemorechanceofcopiesofthatimagebeingfoundandremoved, andthatimagegettingstoppedfrombeinguploaded,downloaded,orsharedin thefirstplace.

Asaresult,we’resupportingtheeffortsoflawenforcementintheUK,and globalindustrycanbetterprotecttheircustomers,andbetterprotectchildren whoseabuseimagesaresharedonline.Thisgivespeaceofmindtovictims whooftenlivewiththeknowledgethatfootageoftheirabusecouldbeshared bycriminalsaroundtheworld.

ThisworkhasbeenfundedbyThornandtheUKGovernment’sHomeOffice andstartedin2020.

ItwasmadetechnicallypossiblebybuildingIntelliGrade.Thecapabilitiesof IntelliGrade,alongsideourtraining,allowsustomakesurethatthequalityof ourassessmentsisthefocusofourwork.

UsingIntelliGrademeansthatwecancreatehashesofmorevictims’images thaneverbefore;notonlyassessingimagesfromCAID,butalsowhereverthe IWFanalystsfindacriminalimage,eitherthroughrespondingtopublicreports orourproactivework.

Nominet Fund for Countering Online Harm

Nominet,theofficialregistryforUKdomainnames,startedtheCountering OnlineHarmFundinDecember2019toofferchildprotectionnetworks additionalresourcestorespondtoever-changingthreatstochildrenonline.

Nominet’spartnershipwiththeIWFhasenabledourtechteamtogrowand takerisks,goingbeyondday-to-dayoperationstobetrulyinnovativeinour missiontodeveloptechnologyforgood.

Thefundhasenabledustocreateandexpandadedicatedsoftware engineeringteamandtoinvestininfrastructuretoscaleupbespoketools developedin-housetofind,assess,andremovechildsexualabusematerial online.

TheteamatNominetshareIWF’smissiontoseeasaferinternetforall,freeof childsexualabusematerial.Thepartnershiphashadatransformativeeffect onourabilitytodeveloptechnologythatenhancesourwork,increasingimpact andhelpingtocounteronlineharmthroughtheremovalofchildsexualabuse materialfromtheinternet.

ReThink Chatbot

First-of-its-kind

InpartnershipwithStopItNow!UKandIreland,wedevelopedachatbotto helpdeterpotentialoffendersfromsearchingforchildsexualabusematerial anddivertthemtosourcesofsupporttochangetheirbehaviour.Theproject hasbeenfundedbytheSafeOnlineInitiativeatEndViolence.

Ittargetsinternetuserswhoshowsignsthattheymightbelookingforimages ofchildsexualabuse.TechnologycompanyMindGeekvolunteeredtopilotthe chatbotonthePornhubUKplatformaspartofitstrustandsafetyprotocol, whichalsoincludescontentmoderationprogrammesandnon-profit partnerships.

ThechatbotwaslaunchedinMarchandtheprojectwillbeevaluatedby AssociateProfessorJeremyPritchardandDrJoelScanlanfromtheUniversity ofTasmania.TheevaluationisfundedbyChildhoodFoundationandtheSafe OnlineInitiativeatEndViolenceandisexpectedtofinishlate2023.

chatbot to prevent

online child

sexual abuse.

1t1.rm1dla1bolr1,nl')'Stopl\NOW1W•olf• eonfodffll.alnon-,.,dgeme<'llal11UPP01LC1,ek htrefo,mor,1nform.110n Justtolel)Ollknow,weha-;e~dlal hlstorylormprow,,;,itlvs-Y101.dol>OIO!le .-iype,SMlldelailt PINwcklc.N)'etlbUl!onforlnlonnauon aboulaur&eMCHbuttl)'Olldono1a;reetothe lbove,pl,caMd,ekno1oex.rt

IThisisthefirstprojectofitskindto usechatbottechnologyto intervenewhenpeopleattemptto searchforsexualimagesof childrenandtrytohelpthemstop, ornotstart,offending.

Getting to grips with grid images

ByChrisWilson,IWFHeadofSoftwareDevelopment

Oneofourchallengeswe’retacklingisaroundtherecurringissueof‘grid images’inthehashingprocess.Thisprocesscreateshashes,ordigital fingerprints,ofchildsexualabuseimagesandvideosthatcanbeusedto identifyandblocktheimagesonline.

Gridimages,however,arenotoriousforcausingperceptualhashcollisions, whichmeansthattheperceptualhashesfromgridswillsometimesmatch imagesofsimplerepeatingpatterns.

Agridisaparticulartypeofpreviewimageusedbyoffenderstoadvertiseand makemoneyfromsellingchildsexualabusevideosonline.Offenderscreate thegridimagesfromvideoframesofthecriminalcontentandpostthemon theinternetalongwithalinktoenticebuyerstoapremiumfilesharingservice. Theseservicesrequireasubscriptionforuserstoaccessanddownloadthefull video.

Youcanreadmoreaboutcommercialchildsexualabuseimageryhere

Gridscanconstituteupto40%oftheimagesweprocessinreportsatany givenpointintime.Butmostofthetechcompanieswhouseourdatatoblock

We’vedeliberatelyscaledupourtechteamtoenhancetheeffortsofanalysts inourHotline.

childsexualabuseimageryexcludegridimagehashesfromsearchesbecause ofthechancethattheymightclashwithanotherimage.

Theworkinprogress

Whilethereisnostandardlayout,backgroundcolour,sub-imagesizeor softwareusedtogenerategrids,weestablishedthatcollisionsaremorelikely tooccurwhena7×7gridorhigherofsub-imagesisused.

Tohandlegridsinanautomatedfashion,wecreatedaprocessthatcandetect thebackgroundandseparatetheimagesbackintotheconstituentframesfrom thevideoforperceptualhashmatchingandclustering.

Ourtestingonsyntheticgridsandreal-worldchildsexualabusematerialhas shownthisapproachtobe95%effectivewitha0.2%falsepositiverate,which iswhenanimageisflaggedasmatchingagridandextractederroneously. Thesoftwarewehavedevelopedsofaristooslowtobeusefulinreal-time detectionforexternaltechorganisations,butitissuitableforIWFpurposes, andweareworkingwithpartnersinternationallytooptimisethecode.

VIDEO THUMBNAILS MAKER

Applyaquantizationfiltertorestoreauniformbackground–removing JPEGcompressionartefacts–andsimplifytheimage.

Scantheimageforanyuninterruptedsolidbackgroundcoloursthat touchallfouredges.

Usetheidentifiedbackgroundcolourtogenerateabinaryimageasa foregroundmask.

VIDEO THUMBNAILS MAKER

Applyblobdetectiontofindthesub-images,subjecttosomeedgecase filtering

Apotentialgamechanger

Thismeanswecannow:

1.Associategridimageswiththesourcechildsexualabusevideoifwe’ve alreadyassessedit,restoringcontexttosomeimageswhichmaynot otherwisehaveevidentlybeencriminalcontentfromthegridpreview alone.

2.Automaticallydetectandexcludegridsintheirrawformfromperceptual hashmatchingandclusteringtopreventcollisions.

3.Addthesub-imageperceptualhashestoourdatasetswhichwouldmatch theframesofthesourcevideosonplatformsthatimplementscanningon videosandenablethedetectionofaknownvideoofchildsexualabuse evenwherewedon’thavethevideoitself.

Impactonclustering

Forasimilarareaofourwork,weuseDBSCANclusteringwithPhotoDNA hashestogroupverysimilarimagestogether.Thisincreasesourabilityto assessveryvisuallysimilarimages,suchassimpleresizes,andtoimprove consistencywithourassessmentprocessaswecancompareassessments madebydifferentanalystsforslightlyalteredcopiesofthesameimages.We

foundassessmentsbasedonclusterstobe112%fasterthanassessing individualimages.

Gridimagescomeintoplayforclusteringwhenitcomestovideos.The standardPhotoDNAprocessforvideosistofirstextracttheframes.Thesecan thenbeassessedasimages.Thevideoreceivesitsoverallassessmentrating baseduponthe“highestcategory”assessmentofanyoftheconstituent frames.Thiswaythevideoitselfcanbegradedfortheseverityofthechild sexualabuseitcontains.Wealsoaccountforanyframesextractedand circulatedindividually.

TheframesfromanygivenvideowouldformintoaPhotoDNAclustermuchin thesamewayascopiesofthesameimagewouldbecauseeachframewillbe verysimilartothenextandpreviousframes.Inthecaseofgrids,thismeans thattheextractedsub-imagesfromagridwouldmergeintotheclusterforthe sourcevideo(ifwehaveittomatchagainst),whichcanprovidevitalcontext foruswhenassessingimages.

Forexample,thesub-imagesofagridmaynotbeobviouschildsexualmaterial becausetheimagedoesnotcontainenoughofthevictimtobesure,butwhen itmergesintotheexistingcluster,theanalystscanthenseewherethegrid camefrom,andtheimagesbeforeandafteritinthevideo,whichcanoften confirmonewayoranotherwhethertheimageisofachildornot.

Whyisthisimportant?

Thismakesourworkfaster,moreaccurate,andclosestheloopholeswhich criminalshavetriedtoexploitintheirmakingandsharingofchildsexualabuse imagesandvideos.

Machine learning with SafeToNet

We’vebeenworkingwithsafetytechcompanySafeToNettodevelopanew onlinechildsafetysolutionwhichwillusemachinelearningtorecognisechild sexualabusematerialandstopitbeingsentto,orcreatedby,mobiledevices. Thesolution,calledSafeToWatch,willdetectthreatsinrealtime,block harmfulcontentorswitchoffthecameraonachild’sphoneiftheyareviewing inappropriatematerialortrickedintotakingsexualimageryofthemselvesby anonlinepredator.

In2022,78%ofthewebsitesweremovedcontainedimagesorvideoswhere childrenhadbeengroomedandcoercedintosexualactivitiesoveraninternetenableddevicewithacamerabyanabuser.

Wehopethisnewtechnologywillhelppreventchildrenfrombeingtargetedin thiswaybycriminals.

OurtechteamhelpedtrainSafeToWatch,usingknownchildsexualabuse materialassessedbyourexperiencedIWFanalysts,toteachitwhatchild sexualabusematerialisandhowtodetectit,andthenrigorouslytestedit. SafeToWatchcansitonthedeviceitselfandwillwork,eveninend-to-end encryptedplatforms,tohelpkeepchildrensafe.Itisalsobeingdevelopedto beintegratedonplatformsthemselvesandcouldbeanimportantchildsafety solutionasmoreplatformsfullyencrypttheirservices.

“Itispreventionatthepointofcreationordistribution.Weareuniquein thatwearefocusingonapreventativesolutionratherthanareporting tool.ThereasonwewantedtoworkwiththeIWFisbecausewebelieve theyhavethebestandrichestdataworldwide.Itiswelllabelled andlendsitselftohelpingwiththiskindofwork.”

TomFarrell,ChiefOperatingOfficeratSafeToNet.

Our role in the Safety Tech Challenge

~CYACOMB

Asmoredigitalplatformslooktofullyencrypttheirmessagingservices, effortstodisruptandpreventthespreadofchildsexualabusematerial onlinecouldbehampered,helpingcriminalsevadedetection.

ThisiswhywepartneredwithdigitalforensicscompanyCyacombforthe SafetyTechChallenge,aUKGovernment-fundedinitiativetodevelop innovativetechsolutionsfordetectingchildsexualabusecontentinend-toendencryptedenvironments,whileensuringthatusers’privacyisrespected.

ThroughourcollaborationwithCyacomb,we’vehelpedtocreateatoolthat couldblockimagesandvideosofchildrensufferingsexualabusefrombeing uploadedintoend-to-endencryptedplatforms,whereitwouldbeimpossible totracethem.

Thishasshownthatatechnicalsolutiontothechallengeposedbyend-to-end encryptionispossibleandwouldhelpinpreventingthespreadofknown criminalcontent.

Wetestedthesolutioninanenclosedenvironmenttosimulatehowthetool woulddetectrealchildsexualabusecontentinaprivatemessagingplatform.

Whileitisnotpossibletoscaninsideanend-to-endencryptedenvironment,it ispossibletostopknownchildsexualabusecontentfrombeinguploadedinto anend-to-endenvironmentbeforeitistransmitted,distributed,andshared.

Thistoolhaspotential;however,itneedstobeusedinconjunctionwithother measurestomakesurechildrenarefullyprotected.

IanStevenson,CyacombCEOsaid:“Wewereprivilegedtocollaboratewith IWFontheUKGovernmentSafetyTechChallengeFundexploringpotential solutionsfordetectingandblockingchildsexualabusematerialinend-to-end encryptedmessagingenvironments.

“TheIWFprovideddeepunderstandingoftheproblemtobesolved,the challengesindoingso,andwasabletoprovidepracticaltestingin appropriatelysecureandcontrolledenvironments.Welearnedahugeamount fromthiscollaboration,andIWFtestingcontributedtoconfidencethatthe technologiesunderdevelopmentwereeffective.

“Wehopethisworkwillcontinuetodeveloptothepointwhereitcandeliver realimpactinthefightagainstchildsexualabuseimageryinmessagingfor IWFMembersandmorewidely.”

Our work with the adult sector MindGeek

We’reworkingonatwo-yearpilotprojectinpartnershipwithMindGeekto developamodelofgoodpracticetosupporttheadultindustryincombatting childsexualabusematerialonline.

MindGeek,atechnologycompany,operatesanumberofbrandswhichoffer legal,adult-themedcontenttoaglobalaudience.Theyhaveimplementeda numberoftrustandsafetymeasurestokeeptheirplatformsanduserssafe andpreventtheupload/re-uploadofillegalmaterial.Theseincludemandatory identificationforcontentcreators,hash-listscanning,AItools,human moderation,deterrencemessaging,atrustedflaggerprogrammeanduser reportingoptions.

Duringthetwo-yearproject,MindGeekwillsupplementitsexistingtrustand safetyprogrammebytakinganddeployingallrelevantIWFservicesacrossits platformsincludingtheURLList,HashList,Non-photographicImageryListand KeywordsList.

ThepartnershipbeganinNovemberandisbeingoverseenbyanexternal advisoryboardofexpertswhowillguidetheoutputsofthepartnership.

Thepartnershipaimsto:

Developamodelofgoodpracticetoguidetheadultindustryincombatting childsexualabuseimageryonline;

EvaluatetheeffectivenessofIWFserviceswhendeployedacross MindGeek’sbrands;

Combinetechnicalandengineeringexpertisetoscopeanddevelop solutionswhichwillassistwiththedetection,disruptionandremovalof childsexualabusematerialonline.

Theproject’sprogresswillbereviewedatsetintervalsandreportedintothe IWFBoard.Keylearningsfromtheprojectwillbesharedpubliclytosupport others’workinthisarea.

Welfare

Welfare at IWF

ByHeidiKempster,DeputyCEOandChiefOperatingOfficer

TheIWFhasgrownmorein2022thanatanytimeinour26-yearhistory. Atthebeginningoftheyear,weembarkedonourbiggestrecruitmentdrive yet,withappointmentstonewrolesacrossourorganisation.Wehavegrown, fromJanuary2022,to70bytheendofDecember.

GiventhesensitivenatureoftheworkwedoatIWF,thatkindofexpansion wasnomeanfeat.Weneedtoensurethatwerecruitcarefully,withpeople whohavebothahighemotionalresilienceandapassionforourmission.

AndfollowingourresponsetoCovid,wherewesplitourworkforcebetween thosewhoworkintheofficeandthosewhocanworkremotely,wehad additionalchallengestomaintainthatsenseofunity.We’veneededtore-think howwecreatethatfeelingandcultureofone“IWFfamily”.

Whenwespeakpubliclyaboutourwork,weoftengetaskedaboutthewelfare provisionsforourstaff,howwerecruittherightpeople,andhowwemanageto maintainsuchhighstaffretention.We’vetakenadeeperdiveintotheseissues inthisannualreport,byfeaturingtheviewsofournewHeadofHR,oneofour SeniorAnalystswhosupportsstaffwellbeing,andourprofessionalmental healthsupportteam.

Weworkhardasateamtoensurethatthosewhodedicatetheirworkinglives toourmissionare,inturn,lookedafter.Attheendof2022wewelcomedfour independentexpertswhocarriedoutourHotlineAudit,whichhadbeen delayedbyayearduetotheCovidpandemic.

Aspartofthisaudit,DrGeorginaClifford,SpecialistClinicalandResearch PsychologistandDirectorofLondonTraumaSpecialists,inspectedourwelfare provision.TheindependentauditorsfoundourGold-standardwelfare programmetobean:“excellent,carefullyconsideredandever-evolvingwelfare package…[with]atrauma-informedapproachtoassessingthesuitabilityofnew stafffortherole,withacomprehensiveandrigorousinterviewandinduction process.”

What welfare means to me

LillianisaQualityAssuranceOfficerattheIWF,havingworkedinourHotline for13years,findingandassessingchildsexualabuseimages.Shetakesa leadinhelpingtosupportthewelfareofothers.Here’sLillian’sviewofwhat welfaremeanstoher.

“Peopleoftenassumethatsomethingbadmusthappentoyouforyourmental healthtobecompromised,butitcanalsobethesmallthingsthatgrindaway atyouovertime,likeabusylifestyle,adarkdingyday,ahideouscommuteto theoffice,workingconditionsthatarenotfitforpurposeandmanypeople sufferwithlonelinesswhenworkingfromhome.

ThisiswhytheIWFpridesitselfonprovidinganexcellentwelfaresystemto supportstaffwhereverpossible.Goodmentalhealthisofutmostimportance whenworkingforanorganisationwhichdealswiththesubjectmatterofchild sexualabusematerial.

TherearemanyrolesattheIWF,somepeopleassessimagesandvideosof children’ssexualabuseaspartoftheirjobandsomeworkinotherareasofthe organisation,whichmeanstheyareworkingfromhomeorhybridworking;all rolespresenttheirownchallengesandstresses.

IjoinedtheIWFMentalHealthWorkingGroupinthepeakofCovid. Wefocusonpromotingmentalwellbeingandimprovingstaffhappiness.

Wetakeasensitiveapproach,factoringinthedifferentneedsofallIWF employees.

EverymonthIsendoutawelfareemailtothewholeorganisation.Isearchfor tipsonmanagingmentalhealth.Everyemailhasathemedependentonwhat’s goingonatthattime.Itmightbework-related,forexampleahectictimewhen weareworkingtowardsmeetingatarget,oritcouldbedowntoexternal factors,likethewinterblues.

IspendalotoftimelisteningtoTedTalkslookingfortherightonewhich coincideswiththementalhealthtipsIwanttogive.TedTalksaremotivational andcanbeverythought-provoking.

Ialsobelievethebenefitsofmeditationareboundless.Therearesomany differentformsofmeditation/mindfulness.Whilesomeareupliftingandactive, othersarecentredaroundwindingdownandrelaxing.Everybodyisdifferent andmoodistransient,soonetypeoftherapydoesnotsuitall.Iincludelinks toavarietyofwellnessapproachesfromourwellnessemployeebenefit platform,sostaffcanchoosewhichmethodworksforthem.

Mywelfareemailmaybeassimpleasprovidingabreakandadistractionfrom theeveryday,buttheoverallpurposeistogivemycolleaguesarangeof psychologicaltoolsthattheycandrawfrom,asandwhentheyneedthem. Likeourphysicalhealth,mentalhealthrequiresmaintenance.Thetruthabout mentalhealthisthatitvariesfromonedaytothenext,andI’mproudtoplay mypartsupportingothersatIWF.”

Professional mental health support

Wegiveourstaffthesupporttheyneedtodotheirjobwell

Ouranalystshaveoneofthetoughestjobsintheworld.Everyday,staffinour Hotlineseedistressingimagesandvideosofchildrenbeingsexuallyabused, rapedandtortured.

Ongoingexposuretothistypeofimagerycantakeatollonananalyst’s wellbeing.However,staffattheIWFconsistentlypointtothestrongwelfare systeminplacethathelpsthemtocopewiththenatureoftheirwork.

Itstartswiththerecruitmentprocess

TheIWF’srigoroussupportsystembeginsassoonascandidatesareselected forinterviewandcontinuesthroughouttheirtimeatthecharity.Recruitment andtrainingarecarefullymanagedtoguidepotentialandnewanalyststhrough theprocessofviewinggraphicandupsettingimages.

Thisstrongstartreinforcesawiderorganisationalstrategyensuringthatthere isasupportnetworkeverystepofthewaytohelpthemmaintaingoodmental wellbeing.

Ouranalystscomefromallwalksoflife,agesandexperiences,yettheyall speakofasenseofsharedcamaraderieandunderstandingintheHotline.They knowthattheywillalwaysbeabletospeaktoacolleagueorlinemanager abouttheirworkanditisencouragedthatstaffrecogniseandvoicethatthey mightnotbeabletocopeaswellasthey’dlikewithsomethingtheyhave viewed.

Regularbreaks,andnoovertime

Itisvitaltoouranalysts’wellbeingthattheycan‘closethedoor’onwhatthey haveseenduringthedayandleaveworkbehindwhentheygohome.Forthis reason,staffintheHotlineworkashorteneddaytokeeptheamountoftime viewingimagestoaminimum.Regularbreaksaremandatoryandthereisno overtime,ever.

Duringlunchandtimeawayfromtheirscreens,analystsareencouragedto relaxandeatinabrightandcheerfulcommunalspaceorifthey’refeeling energetic,playagameoftabletennis.Therearealsojigsaws,colouringbooks, buildingsetsandjugglingballsavailableforothermindfuldistractions. Furthersupportisprovidedbyanin-housewelfareworkinggroupthatmeets regularlytodiscussaspectsofstaffwelfareacrosstheorganisationand providesteam-buildingsessionstomaintainmorale.

Mandatorycounselling,everymonth,withoutfail

Onoccasionhowever,viewingaparticularimageorvideocanhavean emotionaleffectonananalystandstaywiththembeyondtheirworkingday. Thisiswhyallemployeeswhoviewcriminalimageshavein-person,mandated monthlycounsellingsessionswithalicensedtherapist.

Thesesessionsgentlyexplorehowtheanalystisdealingwiththeirexposureto childsexualabusematerialandwhetheritmaybeaffectingtheirhomelife. Sometimesananalystwilldescribeviewinganimagethatis‘triggering’and whichthey’refindingdifficulttostopthinkingabout.Itcouldbesomethingas innocuousasarecognisabletoyorpieceofclothingorsomethingmore upsettingthatcanbeheardontheaudiotrackofasexualabusevideo.

Inthesecases,thetherapistcanworkwiththeanalysttotryanddispelthe impactthattheimagehas;totakeawayitspowertoshock.Theseinclude techniquessuchasimaginingtheimagepaintedonawallandthen manipulatingit.Theanalystisencouragedtopaintovertheimageorbreak downthewallintheirminds,mentallyblockingorthrowingitaway.

Anannualvisitto“TheProf”

Themonthlysessionsarebackedupbyanannualassessmentwithaclinical psychologist,affectionatelycalled‘TheProf’.HisworkwiththeIWFdiffers fromhisusualsessionsinthatinsteadofhelpingpeopletodealwiththe aftermathofacrisisortrauma,itisspecificallydesignedtopreventcrisisand traumafromoccurring.

Hesaysthattodotheirjobseffectively,analystsneedtobecomedesensitised tosomedegree.Whilethecontenttheyviewremainsshocking,becauseofthe

analyst’strainingandexperiencetheimagesnolongerhavethesamesortof abilitytoshockthattheymighthavehadforsomeonewhowasillpreparedto seethem.

Analystsaretaughttotrynotto‘fillinthegaps’whenviewingimagesof childrenbeinghurtandexploited,whichmeanstoavoidthinkingaboutwhat mighthavehappenedtoachildandwhethertheyarestillatrisk.Thoughitisa naturalthingtowonderabout,ouranalystslearntodistancethemselvesfrom theemotionalaspectsotheycanfocusonthejobathand.

TheIWFmissionasmotivation

Analystsknowthatthevitaldatacollectedthroughtheirassessmentofchild sexualabuseimagesisusedbylawenforcementandthetechindustryaround theworldtotrackdownchildabusersandblockfurtherdistributionofabuse material.ThisgivesourHotlinestaffgreatsatisfactionknowingthattheyhave madeadifferencetohelpchildren.

Asoneanalystsays:“I’mgladwedoseewhatwedoifitprotectschildren.”

Providing support across the organisation

BySamanthaO’Byrne,IWFHeadofHumanResources

“Ourwelfareconsiderationshavefocusedoncreatingaculturewhere everyonefeelsthoughtof,valuedandunited,whetherworkingtogether intheofficeorremotely.”

OurstaffteamattheIWFhasgrownrapidlyoverthepasttwoyearsandwe nowemployabout70peoplewhoarebasedacrosstheUKandBrussels. HalfoftheteamworktogethereverydayasoneunitinourCambridgeHotline, wheretheyassesschildsexualabuseimages.Theotherhalfwork predominantlyfromhomebutcometogetherregularlyforindividualteam gatherings,meetingsattheofficeorcompany-ledevents.

Ourwelfareconsiderationshavefocusedoncreatingaculturewhereeveryone feelsthoughtof,valuedandunited,whetherworkingtogetherintheofficeor remotely.Ensuringthateveryonehastherighttoolstobeeffectiveandfeel connectedhasbeenvitalinthisprocess.

WehaveanexceptionalwelfareprogrammeinplacetosupportourHotline, whichisscrutinisedandendorsedbyexternalsubjectmatterexperts, includingahighcourtjudge,aclinicalpsychologistandlawenforcement.

Culturally,weworkhardtoensurewebringpeopletogetheroften,making themfeelconnectedandensuringtheyhaveanequalvoice.Weholdroutine,

The Annual Report 2022 (j)IWF

organisation-wideonlinemeetings,runanemployee-ledstaffforum,take regularsurveystoseekemployeeopinionandgivepeopleresponsibleroleson thewelfaregroupandenvironmentalteam.

Ourgroupsandmeetingscombineoffice-basedandhomeworkerstogivea roundedviewacrosstheorganisation.Thishelpstofostercollaborationand developstrongrelationshipsamongcolleagues,wherevertheyareinthe country.

Howevermuchwehavegrown,westriveforequityacrosstheorganisation whereverpossible,forexampleofferingwelfareperksthatsuitboththoseat homeandintheoffice.Weknowthatneedsdifferacrossindividualteamsand wemeetthosedifferenceswhenwecan,yetwealwaysprioritiseaconsistent andbalancedapproachtostaffwelfare.

WewelcomedfourindependentinspectorsintoIWFattherequestofour Board.LedbyretiredHighCourtJudgeSirMarkHedley,theywereaskedto:

CommentonwhethertheHotlineandAdministrators’Manualsarefitfor purposeandwhethertheproceduresarecompliedwithbystaff.

QualitycheckactivechildsexualabuseURLsandhashimagesfor consistencyofdecision-makingandmanagerialoversight.

Samplepreviouschildsexualabusecontentscreencapturesfor consistencyofdecision-makingandmanagerialcontrolmechanisms.

Reviewandcommentonadministrationindischargingcontentassessment complaints.

ConsiderInternetContentAnalysts’trainingrequirementstoenablethem toundertaketheirrolesconfidentlyandaccurately.

SampleworkoftheQualityAssuranceteamtoensureadequate,objective andrepresentativetestingandreportingmechanisms.

ReviewHotlinesecurityarrangementsandconformancewithISO/IEC 27001.

ReviewandcommentonHotlinewelfarearrangementsincluding recruitmentprocesses,counsellingarrangementsandgeneralsupport mechanismscomparingwithothermodelsofgoodpracticeinlaw enforcementandotherprofessions.

Theyconcludedthat:

“TheIWFisanextremelyprofessionalandwell-managedorganisation ledbyastrongbutcaringandcompassionateleadershipteam. Themissionisclearlyunderstoodbyallstaffmemberswhoare committedtoprotectingchildrenfromtheseriousharmsthatcanbe inflictedbytheperpetratorsofonlinechildsexualabuse.”

KeithNivenQPM,NationalCAIDITImplementationLead, NorfolkConstabulary.

ThefullreportispublishedontheIWFwebsite.

Policy

Policy in UK

OnlineSafetyBill

InMarch2022,theUKGovernmentpresenteditsmuch-anticipatedOnline SafetyBilltobereadintheHouseofCommons.Thiswastheculminationof almostsixyears’worthofpre-legislativeconsultationinthepreparationofthe Bill.TheIWFcontinuedtoinfluenceandfollowtheBillthroughoutitspassage inParliament.

Secondreading,19April2022

AtaheavilycurtaileddebateontheBill’sSecondReading,theformerChairof theDigital,Culture,MediaandSport(DCMS)SelectCommittee,JulianKnight MP,calledfortheIWFtohavearoleinassistingOfcomtoidentifycompanies whowerefailingintheirdutyofcare.

FormerDigitalMinisterDameCarolineDinenageMPalsoreferencedtheharm causedtochildrenandhowtheIWFandpartnersblocked8.8millionattempts inonemonthtoaccessknownchildsexualabusematerial.Readourbriefing note.

Parliamenton19April2022

VideoclipofformerMinisterofStateforDigitalandCultureDameCaroline DinenageMPspeakingattheSecondReadingoftheOnlineSafetyBillin

PublicBillCommittee,24May2022

TheBillentereditsPublicBillCommitteestageforthefirsttimeinMay.The Committee,ChairedbySirRogerGaleMPandChristinaReesMP,useditsfirst sessiontohearfromawiderangeofstakeholders,includingIWFCEOSusie HargreavesOBE,onvariousaspectsoftheBillbeforeconsideringlinebyline scrutinyoftheBill.

TopicsofdiscussionatthePublicBillCommitteeevidencesessionincluded categorisationofcompaniesaspartoftheBill,end-to-endencryption, grooming,co-designationofexpertbodiesandmedialiteracy.Readour evidencetothePublicBillCommittee.

VideoclipoftheformerChairofDCMSSelectCommittee,JulianKnightMP, speakingattheSecondReadingoftheOnlineSafetyBillinParliamenton 19April2022

VideoclipofIWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBEgivingevidencetothePublicBill Committeeon24May2022

ReportStage,12Julyand5December2022

TheBillhadtwodaysofReportStage.Thefirston12Julyandthesecond, followingtwochangesofPrimeMinister,on5December.

Manyoftheamendmentsrelatingtochildsexualexploitationandabusewere consideredon5December,whenseveralMPsstooduptoraiseconcerns abouttheneedformoredetailonhowtheimplementationofthelegislation wouldworkinpractice.

FormerSafeguardingMinister,RachelMacleanMP,calledfortheIWF’s technicalexpertisetobereflectedinthenewregulatoryframework.Former HomeSecretaryPritiPatelMPpushedtheParliamentaryUnderSecretaryof State,PaulScullyMP,toensurehewasawareoftheIWF’sexpertiseandthat itwouldbereflectedinthenewframework.SeveralotherParliamentary Champions,includingSarahChampionMP,MiriamCatesMPandVickyFord MP,backedthesecalls.

Readourbriefingnote

VideoclipofIWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBEgivingevidenceto thePublicBillCommitteeon24May2022

VideoclipofformerHomeSecretaryRtHonPritiPatelMPandthe formerSafeguardingMinisterRachelMacleanMPduringOnlineSafety BillReportStagediscussionsinParliamenton5December2022

VideoclipofIWFParliamentaryChampionMiriamCatesMPduringOnline SafetyBillReportStagediscussionsinParliamenton5December2022

VideoclipofIWFParliamentaryChampionRtHonVickyFordMP duringReportStagediscussionsinParliamenton5December2022

SaferInternetDay

IWFChampionLauraTrottMPchairedavirtualsessionforMembersof ParliamentandPeerstohearfromthreeofChildnet’sDigitalLeadersaspartof adiscussionaboutthethemeforSaferInternetDay2022:‘Allfunandgames? Exploringrespectandrelationshipsonline’.

SpeakinginadebateonmentalhealthinParliamentonthesamedayLaura Trottsaid:

“Today,ataneventinvolvingtheInternetWatchFoundation,Iheardfour teenagerstalkaboutthepressuresthattheyfeltonline,andhowdifficult theyfoundtotalktopeopleaboutwhatwashappeningandwhereto referit.Wemustfixthis,andIthinktheOnlineSafetyBillwillbethe keytothat.”

VideoclipofIWFParliamentaryChampionSarahChampionMP duringReportStagediscussionsinParliamenton5December2022

AscreenshotshowsIWFChampionLauraTrottMPchairingavirtualSafer InternetDayeventwithteenagersdiscussingthepressuresthattheyfeltonline

IndependentInquiryintoChildSexualAbuse

TheIndependentInquiryintoChildSexualAbusepublisheditsfinalreportin Octoberafternearlysevenyearsofwork,hearingfrom7,300victimsand survivorsandconsideringnearly2.5millionpagesofevidence.

WewereproudtoplayourpartintheInquirywhichconcludedthat:“toooften institutionsprioritisedtheirpersonalandinstitutionalreputationsabovethe welfareofthosetheyweredutyboundtoprotect.”Thefinalreportstated: “Childrenmustbegivenagreaterpriorityinpubliclife.”

AmonthaftertheInquiryconcluded,wewerepleasedtoaddournameto alettertothePrimeMinisterandHomeSecretarycallingonthemto implementtherecommendationsinthereport.

APPGOnSocialMedia

Thisyear,aspartoftheUKSaferInternetCentre,wecontinuedtorunthe SecretariatfortheAll-PartyParliamentaryGroup(APPG)onSocialMedia. TheAPPGelectedtwonewCo-Chairsin2022,LabourMPLukePollard andConservativeMPAaronBellwhotookoverfromoutgoingChairChris ElmoreMP.

TheAPPGheldtwomeetingsthisyearrelatedtotheOnlineSafetyBill.The firstconsideredchildprotectionmeasuresintheBillwhereMPsandPeers heardfromSWGfL,Barnardo’sandtheIWFonhowtheBillcouldbeimproved, witharesponsefromthenDigitalMinisterChrisPhilpMP.

VideoclipofIWFChampionLauraTrottMPinParliamenton8February2022 referringtotheSaferInternetDayeventshechaired

The Annual Report 2022 (i)IWF

ThesecondsessionconsideredchangestheGovernmentmadetotheBill concerningthe“legalbutharmfulprovisions.”SpeakersincludedWillPerrinof theCarnegieTrust,ParliamentaryUnder-SecretaryofStateforTechandthe DigitalEconomyatDCMSPaulScullyMPandLabourShadowMinisterforTech, GamblingandtheDigitalEconomyAlexDavies-JonesMP.

November’sAPPGonSocialMediaincludedspeakersWillPerrinof theCarnegieTrust,DCMSParliamentaryUnder-SecretaryofState PaulScullyMPandLabourShadowMinisterAlexDavies-JonesMP

November’sAPPGonSocialMediaincludedspeakersWillPerrin oftheCarnegieTrust,DCMSParliamentaryUnder-SecretaryofState PaulScullyMPandLabourShadowMinisterAlexDavies-JonesMP

WrittenevidencetoScottishParliamentJusticeCommittee

InMay,theIWFwasaskedtogivewrittenevidencetotheScottishParliament JusticeCommittee,foraone-offevidencesessionononlinesafety.We providedinformationonthescaleandnatureoftheCSEAthreat,CSEA definitions,educationandawarenessandthechallengesweface.Readour writtensubmission.

IWF’s25thanniversary

Wecelebratedour25thanniversaryataneventintheHouseofLords, sponsoredbyBaronessNickyMorganofCotes,withthenHomeSecretaryRt HonPritiPatelMPspeakingalongsideProfessorHanyFaridfromtheUniversity ofCalifornia,Berkeley,IWFChairAndrewPuddephattOBEandIWFCEOSusie HargreavesOBE.

OtherattendeesattheeventincludedRt.Hon.SirJeremyWrightKCMP,Chair oftheAPPGonDigitalRegulation;DamianCollinsMP,ChairofthedraftOnline SafetyBillJointCommittee;AlexDavies-JonesMP,ShadowMinisterforTech, GamblingandtheDigitalEconomy;DanielZeichner,MemberofParliamentfor Cambridge;Rt.Hon.LordTimClement-JonesCBEFRSA,LibDem spokespersonintheHouseofLordsfortheDigitalEconomy;LauraTrottMBE, MemberofParliamentforSevenoaks;DameMelanieDawes,OfcomCEO;Rob Jones,DirectorofThreatLeadership,NationalCrimeAgency;andDeputyChief ConstableIanCritchley,NationalPoliceChiefs’Councilleadforchild protection.RepresentativesfromMeta,Apple,Google,TalkTalk,TikTokand Snapalsoattended,aswellasBTwhoverykindlysponsoredtheeventasone ofourfoundingMembers.

SpeakersattheIWF’s25thanniversaryeventattheHouseofLordsincluded, fromleft,IWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBE;UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,Prof HanyFarid;thenHomeSecretaryRtHonPritiPatelMP;Rt.Hon.BaronessNicky Morgan;andIWFChairAndrewPuddephattOBE

VideoofIWFChampionSarahChampionMPspeakingaboutthe workoftheIWFonour25thanniversary

VideoofIWFChampionSimonFellMPdiscussingtheworkof theIWFonour25thanniversary

Policy in Europe

EUproposalstotackleChildSexualAbuse

InFebruary,theIWFusedSaferInternetDaytourgetheEuropean Commissiontobringforwardtheirplanstotacklechildsexualabuseonline followinganincreaseinreportstoourHotlineby374%injusttwoyears,with themajorityofthecontentbeinghostedinEurope.

InMay,theEuropeanCommissionannouncedtheirproposednewregulation topreventandcombatonlinechildsexualabuse.Theproposalfromthe EuropeanCommissionwouldcreateanewindependentEUCentreonChild SexualAbuseandwouldplaceclearobligationsonserviceproviderstodetect, block,reportandremovechildsexualabusematerial.Theproposalalso focussesonpreventionandassistancetovictimsaswellasarolefornational authorities.

Inthesamemonth,IWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBEmetwiththeEuropean CommissionerforHomeAffairs,YlvaJohansson,inBrusselstodiscussthe EuropeanCommission’snewproposal.Discussionscenteredaroundtheendof thetemporarye-Privacyderogationin2024andtheneedfortheproposalto complementexistinginternationalstructurestacklingCSEAonline.

IWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBEmetwiththeEuropeanCommissioner forHomeAffairs,YlvaJohansson,inBrusselsinMay

AlongsidetheUKHomeOffice,theIWFpresentedinAugusttoadelegation fromtheCzechPresidencywhichisresponsibleforprogressingtheproposal fileintheEuropeanCouncil.

InDecember,theIWFhostedadelegationfromtheEuropeanParliament, whichincludedtheLIBERapporteur,JavierZarzalejosMEP,todiscuss strategiestocombatchildsexualabusecontentonline.

AgroupphotoofattendeesatMEPvisittotheIWFoffice,showing,fromleft, DeputyDirectorattheUKHomeOffice,ChristianPapaleontiou;Parliamentary AssistanttoNiyaziKizilyürekMEP,HakanChoban;IWFPolicyandPublicAffairs Executive,JonahThompson;SecretaryGeneraloftheEuropeanParliament’s ChildRightsIntergroup,EmilioPuccio;UKHomeOfficeTacklingChildSexual AbuseUnit,RobCorr;ParliamentaryAssistanttoLenaDupontMEP,Anastasija Ore;ParliamentaryAssistanttoJavierZarzalejosMEP,ZoeNubla;Memberofthe EuropeanParliament,JavierZarzalejos;andIWFChiefExecutive,Susie HargreavesOBE

ReviewoftheChildSexualAbuseDirective

TheEuropeanCommissionheldapublicconsultationonitsreviewofEUrules tocombatchildsexualabuse.TheIWFrespondedtothisconsultationinJuly, supportingtheEuropeanCommission’sintentionforbothnewlegislativeand non-legislativemeasurestotacklethespreadofchildsexualabuseonline.You canreadtheIWF’sresponsehere.

CouncilofEurope,ItalianPresidencyoftheCommitteeofMinisters

InApril,IWFCEO,SusieHargreavesOBE,attendedatwo-daymeetinginRome tocelebratethelaunchofthenewStrategyfortheRightsoftheChild(20222027).Shespokeonapanelaboutprotectingchildrenfromchildsexualabuse andexploitationonline.

IWF’s25thanniversary

AswellasourUKevent,theIWFwasinBrusselsinApriltocelebrateour 25thanniversaryandtodiscusstheforthcomingEUlegislationtotacklechild sexualexploitationandabuse.AttendeesattheeventincludedHilde VautmansMEP,Vice-ChairoftheEuropeanParliamentIntergroupon

Children’sRights,CathrinBauer-Bulst,HeadofUnitforthefightagainst cybercrimeandchildsexualabuseinDGMigrationandHomeAffairsatthe EuropeanCommission,MariaCastello-Branco,Vice-ChairoftheLanzarote Committee,ProfessorHanyFaridfromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley, IWFChairAndrewPuddephattOBEandIWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBE.Read ourrelease.

Fromleft,speakersattheIWF’s25thanniversaryeventinBrusselsincluded ProfHanyFaridfromtheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley;MariaCastello-Branco, Vice-ChairoftheLanzaroteCommittee;IWFChairAndrewPuddephattOBE; andHildeVautmansMEP,Vice-ChairoftheEuropeanParliamentIntergroup onChildren’sRights.CathrinBauer-Bulst,headofunitforthefightagainst cybercrimeandchildsexualabuseinDGMigrationandHomeAffairs shownonscreen

InternationalPolicy

InMay,wepresentedtoadelegationofMalaysianparliamentariansfromthe ParliamentSpecialSelectCommitteeonWomenandChildrenAffairsand SocialDevelopmentattheNationalCrimeAgencyinLondon,alongsidethe WePROTECTGlobalAlliance.

MEPHildeVautmansspeaksattheIWF’s25thanniversary eventinBrusselsinApril

IWFCEOSusieHargreavesOBEandIWFHeadofPolicyandPublicAffairs MichaelTunkscanbeseenfourthfromleftandfarrightrespectivelywith MalaysianparliamentarymembersattheNCAinLondoninMay

Forums

TheIWF’sopinionissoughtinternationally.Wewerealsorepresentedonthe followingforumsthisyear:

AttheParliamentandInternetConferenceinMarch,IWFHeadofPolicyand PublicAffairsMichaelTunksspokeonapanelalongsideBenLakeMP,Katie O’Donovan(Google),EmilyTaylor(OxfordInformationLabs),formerHeadof PolicyatIPSATillSommer,andAmyJordan(Ofcom).

IWFHeadofPolicyandPublicAffairsMichaelTunks,thirdfromleft,spokeona panelattheParliamentandInternetConferenceinMarch,alongsideformerHead ofPolicyatIPSATillSommer;PublicPolicyManageratGoogleUKKatie O’Donovan;PlaidCymruMPforCeredigionBenLake;EmilyTaylor,Oxford InformationLabsCEO;andOfcomDirectorofTechnologyPolicyAmyJordan

InOctober,MichaelTunksspokeattheSaferInternetForuminBrusselsand ChiefTechnologyOfficerDanSextonpresentedattheEuropeanLiberal Forum.

InNovember,DanSextonjoinedtheUKInternetGovernance ForumdiscussiononencryptionalongsidetheICOandAlecMuffet.Michael TunksalsoattendedtheFOSIconference,WorldEconomicForumeventin WashingtonDCandtheUNInternetGovernanceForum.

Members&partners

Our Members & partners

ByNeilProwse,IWFDevelopmentManager

In2022,ourmembershipbasecontinuedtogrowacrosssectorsand industries,andintomorecountries,wideningthereach,impactandbenefit ofourcutting-edgeservices.With181Membersbytheendoftheyear,and about60%oftheseregisteredoutsidetheUK,ourdeploymentofservices nowcrossesallcontinents,makingtheIWFaglobalforceindisruptingchild sexualabusematerialonline.

Seewhofundsourworkandtakesourservices

Inparallel,andthroughourever-growingcollaborationswithindustry Membersclosertohome,wehelpedtokeeptheUKahighlyhostilelocationfor hostingimagesandvideosofchildsexualabuse.

AstheworldadaptedtolivingwithCovid,weaimedtoregularlymeetfaceto facewithMembersthroughout2022andcontinuetodoso.Ourstewardship programmehasprovidedachancetodiscusswidertopics,trendsand challenges,andinsomecases,meetinpersonforthefirsttime.Thisisan ongoingprogrammeandwehopetomeetmoreofourMembersin2023.We werealsodelightedthatour2022AGMcouldbeheldinpersonforthefirst timeinseveralyears,asitbroughtadegreeofnormalitybacktobusiness.

Weenteredseveralnewsectorsduringtheyear,welcomingthelikesof Niantic,whooperateintheworldofaugmentedreality;andQintel,who providedataforensicsforlawenforcement.

Aspartofourmembershipdrivewelookedatwaystoworkwithothersectors, particularlywithintheboundsofencryptionandprivacy,andranacampaign targetedattheVPNsectorwiththesupportoftheVPNTrustInitiativeandthe InternetInfrastructureCoalition.Sincethen,wehaveheldproductivetalks withmanyVPNprovidersandareoptimisticthat2023willseethissector exploretheuseofIWFservicesandexpertisetostopthecriminalcirculationof onlinechildsexualabuseimagery.

WehavealsohadaninfluxofinterestfrombothMembersandcorporate partnersinnewwaystocollaborate,particularlyinthesafetytechsector, pushingboundariesandtestingtoolsandtechnicalinnovationstotacklechild sexualabusematerialandimproveonlinesafetyforchildren.

Weanticipateourmembershipbasetoexpandfurtherinfuture,especiallyin lightoftheUKOnlineSafetyBillandincreasedUKregulation,butalsoinmany othercountriesaroundtheglobe,asgovernmentstightenupregulationsto protectchildrenintheonlineenvironmentandattempttostampoutthe distributionofchildsexualabusematerialontheinternetforgood.

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The Annual Report 2022 (j)IWF

Our Members' testimonials

TikTok

“Childsexualabuseandexploitationisabhorrentandthiskindofbehaviour hasnoplaceonlineoroff.Asweworktogetheronoursharedmissionof endingchildsexualexploitation,it’swiththankstotheIWF’sknowledgeand expertisethatwe’reabletofurtherprotectourcommunityfromsomeofthe internet’smostheinouscriminalcontent.”

ElizabethKanter,DirectorofPolicyandGovernmentRelations

Meta

“CombatingCSAMrequiresasocietywideandholisticapproach,whichiswhy MetahaspartneredwithIWFformorethanadecade,workingtogetheron ground-breakinginitiativestocombatchildexploitationonline.Weareproud ofthislong-standingpartnershipandtheworkwehaveachieved,andwewill continuetocollaboratewithIWFandotherpartnersacrosstheglobeto preventandrespondtothishorriblecrime.”

AntigoneDavis,VP,GlobalHeadofSafety

AdEPTEducation

“AtAdEPTweareincrediblyproudtobeaMemberoftheInternetWatch Foundation(IWF).AsaproviderofIT,communicationsandconnectivityto over12,000organisationsacrosstheUK(includingmorethan4,000schools) weappreciateandsupportthecrucialrolethattheIWFplayinmakingthe internetasaferplace.”

SchoolsBroadband(Talk-Straight)

“SafeguardingisattheveryheartofeverythingSchoolsBroadbanddoes, whichiswhywecontinuetosupportthevitalworkoftheInternetWatch Foundationintheirfighttoprotectchildrenandyoungpeoplefromthe horrendouschildsexualabusethatexistsaroundtheworld.”

DavidTindall,SchoolsBroadbandCEO

Cyacomb

“WewereprivilegedtocollaboratewiththeInternetWatchFoundationonthe UKGovernmentSafetyTechChallengeFundexploringpotentialsolutionsfor detectingandblockingchildsexualabusematerialinEnd-to-EndEncrypted

messagingenvironments.TheIWFprovideddeepunderstandingofthe problemtobesolved,thechallengesindoingso,andwasabletoprovide practicaltestinginappropriatelysecureandcontrolledenvironments.We learnedahugeamountfromthiscollaboration,andIWFtestingcontributedto confidencethatthetechnologiesunderdevelopmentwereeffective.Wehope thisworkwillcontinuetodeveloptothepointwhereitcandeliverrealimpact inthefightagainstchildsexualabusematerialinmessagingforIWFMembers andmorewidely.”

Securus

“SecurusisproudtopartnerwiththeInternetWatchFoundationwhoprovide suchaninvaluableglobalserviceinthebattletoeliminatechildsexualabuse imageryonline.Workingtogetherandsharingknowledgeallowsustoimprove thesupportweofferallschoolsandeducationestablishmentswithour monitoringandsafeguardingsolutions,increasingtheprotectionforpupils fromonlineharmsandincidents.”

ExoClickSL

“ExoClickfullysupportstheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)intheirmission tostampoutchildsexualabuseonline.AsanactiveMember,wedonatefunds towardstheservicesthattheIWFprovideandthegreatworkthatthe organisationdoesintheglobalfightagainsteverincreasinglevelsofchild sexualabusematerial.Wehavezerotolerancetowardsanyformofthe exploitationandonlineharmofchildren.Asanonlinebusiness,wheneverwe encountersuchcontent,weimmediatelynotifytheIWFusingtheirreporting tool.WeareproudtohelptheserviceandtheswiftactionsthattheIWFtake toridtheinternetofthiscontent.WewillcontinuetosupporttheIWFinthe yearstocome.”

CleanDNS

“TheinternethasascourgeofmaterialsandbehaviourstowhichtheInternet WatchFoundation(IWF)hassteppeduptoaddressandmitigate.As

CleanDNS’smissionstatementis“Cleaninguptheinternetforgood”weshare thecommitmentoftheIWFofprotectingvictims.Viaourmembershipsupport andoureffortstostreamlinetheprocessingandevidencingofdomains reportedforvictimisation,weensurerapidassessmentbyIWFandmitigation viaCleanDNS.Therewillbenoconcessioninoureffortstomitigateandend

theseharms.WeareproudtosupportIWF’sroleinkeepingtheinternetasafer place.”

Hutchison3GUKLtd(ThreeUK)

“TheInternetWatchFoundation’sworkhasbeeninvaluabletoThreeUKand hashelpedusdeliverastep-changeinhowwegoaboutcombatingonline crime–inallitsforms.WelookforwardtocontinuingtoworkwithIWFover thenextyearandbeyond,tobuildonthisevenfurther.”

GeorgeRobinson,Hutchison3GUKLtdHeadofGovernmentRelations

Jagex

“Whilemostonlineactivityisbenign,fun,engagingandinformative,less desirablepartsofeverydaysocietyunfortunatelyalsoemerge.Aswithany onlineforum,gamesencounterthisfromtimetotime–rangingfrominternet trollsandharassmenttoaccounthijacking,childexploitationandself-harm.As livinggamesareamicrocosmofsociety,thereisaresponsibilityforcompanies whichdevelopthosegamestoactresponsibly,proactivelyseekingoutthese problemstotacklethemeffectively.Asabusiness,oneofourkeyareasof expertiseisinhowwemonitorbillionsoflinesoflivechat–allday,allnight, everyday–todetectunwantedactivity.Tohelpthisprocess,wehavebuiltour ownheuristiccomputer-basedtools,alongsidealargeanddedicatedinternal team.WeareproudtocontinuetoworkcloselywiththeInternetWatch Foundation,theNationalCrimeAgencyanditsChildExploitationandOnline Protectioncommand,localpolice,aswellasotherorganisationsandvideo gamestradebodiessuchasUKInteractiveEntertainment,toleanontheir expertise.Weformpartofanetworkthathelpsidentifytrendsandshapeselfregulatoryresponsesandofficialaction.It’sanecosystemtowhichwe welcomeevenmorelivinggamesmakerstojoin.”

CrispThinkingGroupLtd

“Crisp,aKrollbusiness,haspartneredwiththeInternetWatchFoundation (IWF)foroveradecade,workingjointlyonnationalandinternationalpolicy, technology,AIanddatasolutions,aswellaspoweringourPlatformRisk IntelligencesolutionswithuniquedatasourcesfromtheIWF.Asanactive memberoftheglobalonlinesafetycommunity,Crisprecognisesthecritical valueofatrulynetworkedresponse.Wecontinuetoinvestresourcesatall

levelsofmembershipstoensurethatwearehelpingtoshapethefutureofa saferdigitalworldforeveryone.”

Coinbase

“Coinbaseiscommittedtorootingoutillicitactivitywithinourbusinessandthe sector.Asacompanywearefullyawareoftherealdamagethatharmful contentonlinecanhaveonoursociety.Thisiswhywehavesoughttowork withtheInternetWatchFoundation.Theworktheydoisinvaluableandmakes arealdifferencetopeople’slives.Welookforwardtocontinuingour partnershipandhelpingthemachievetheirmissionofmakingtheonlineworld asafeplaceforeveryone.”

CoinbaseGlobalIntelligenceteam

RMEducation

“RMEducationisproudtosupporttheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)in theirworktoremovechildsexualabuseimageryonline.Inourworkproviding technologysolutionstothousandsofschoolsandtrustsacrosstheUK,RMhas beenleadingthewayinonlinesafetyineducationforover25years.Working withpartnerssuchastheIWFbringsusonestepclosertoimprovingsafetyfor studentsandschoolstaffonline,withoutgettinginthewayofteachingand learninginanincreasinglydigitalenvironment.

Senso

“SensoareproudtosupporttheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)intheir missiontodetect,disrupt,removeandpreventonlinechildsexualabuse.Our safeguardingplatformoffersunprecedentedsafeguardingcapabilities, protectingusersusingschool-owneddeviceswhethertheyareinschoolor learningfromhome,byproactivelymonitoringandindicatingtorelevantstaff, anyuserswhomaybevulnerableoratrisk,userswhomayposeariskto othersandinappropriate,off-taskorharmfulbehaviour.Senso’scloud-based solutionshaveenabledthousandsofschoolstomonitor,manageandprotect theirstudentswhileonline.Wearecommittedtodoingwhat’snecessaryto ensurechildrenareprotectedonlinewiththehelpfrompartnerslikeIWF.”

BumbleInc.

“AtBumbleInc.,safetyisatoppriorityandatthecoreofeverythingwedo.We approachsafetythroughthelensofthemostvulnerableusersofonline platforms:women,peopleofcolour,andmembersofunderrepresented

communities.Althoughusersunder18yearsoldarenotallowedonour products,childandyouthsafetyisparamountandsomethingwetake seriously.OurpartnershipwiththeInternetWatchFoundationhelpsus strengthenourcapabilitiestobetterandquicklydetectandremovechild sexualabusematerialandthoseresponsibleforthedistributionofthese materials.Thismeansthatwecantakeswiftactionbeforeit’ssharedonour platforms,preventingitfromfurtherperpetuatingharmtovictimsand exposingotherstothisharmfulcontent.Italsoenablesustoreportto authoritiesandaidintheinvestigationandprosecutionofthesecrimessothat theycanmaketheinternetasaferplaceforeveryone.”

Google

“SinceGoogle’searliestdays,we’vebeencommittedtofightingthespreadof childsexualabusematerialbothonourplatformsandinthebroaderonline ecosystem.We’veinvestedheavilyincutting-edgetechnology,speciallytrainedteams,andshareourtechnicalexpertise,resources,andtoolswith NGOsandindustrycoalitionstohelpothersfightchildsexualabuseand exploitation,andbuildasaferinternetforall.Wehavealongandvalued partnershipwiththeInternetWatchFoundation(IWF),anorganisationdeeply committedtothefightagainstthisawfulcrime.TheIWFHashListisavaluable repositoryforthetechindustryandspecialistNGOs.Moreover,contentflags fromtheIWFTakedownNoticesservice–combinedwiththeirproactive approach–helppreventtherevictimisationofchildvictimsaroundtheworld. We’reproudtocalltheIWFoneofourcoretrustedpartnersinthefightagainst childsexualabusematerial.”

AmandaStorey,SeniorDirectorofTrust&SafetyatGoogle

Nominet

“Nominet,asthe.UKregistry,greatlyvalueourworkwiththeInternetWatch Foundation(IWF)tocreateasaferandsecureinternet.Weprovideaccessto IWFtoourdomainportfolios,andarepleasedthatthisyeartodate,theIWF havenotidentifiedanycasesofchildsexualabusematerialinrelationto.UK, .Cymruand.Walesdomains.NominetarealsoproudtosupportIWFthrough ourCounteringOnlineHarmsInnovationFund.IWFarealreadyattheforefront oftacklingonlineimagesandvideosofchildrenbeingsexuallyabused.

Nominet’sfundingaimstoensuretheycanstayonestepaheadofperpetrators bypre-emptingemergingthreatsandbyfast-trackingresearchandideaswith

potentialtomakeavitaldifferencetothelivesofchildren.We’veseenoverthe pastyearhowIWFhaveachievedthisinpractice,usingNominet’sfundingto innovatesolutionsthatallowmorechildsexualabuseimagerytoberemoved morequicklyandefficiently.”

Natterhub

“Asanonlinesafetysolutionproviderforprimaryschools,weworkwiththe InternetWatchFoundation(IWF)toraiseawarenessofchildren’sonline vulnerabilities.TheIWFannualreportprovidesuswithkeydataonthe greatestthreatschildrenfaceonlinetoday.Werecentlycollaboratedona Natterhubcampaign:‘Havetheconversationbeforesomeoneelsedoes’.Our sharedaimwastoencourageregularandrelevantdiscussionswithyoung peopleabouttheironlineexperiences,asapreventativemeasure.Weused transcriptexamplesprovidedbyIWFanalystsforthecampaignmessaging. Despitecomingtogetheroversomeveryserioustopics,itisalwaysapleasure toworkwiththeIWFteam.”

Cyren

“Riddingtheinternetofchildabuseimageryissimplyamatterofgoodversus evil.TheInternetWatchFoundation’smissionisanunfortunatenecessity,and areminderofthedarknessintheworld.Wearethankfulfortheirdedicated effortstoprotectchildrenandproudtoworkwiththemtoblockharmfulonline content.”

Verisign

“Asaproviderofcriticalinternetinfrastructure,Verisigniscommittedtoits missionofhelpingtoensurethesafetyandsecurityoftheinternet.Our partnershipwiththeInternetWatchFoundationandtheabilitytotrustthe informationthattheyprovidetoushasbeeninvaluableinoureffortstomake real,measurabledifferencesinthefightagainstchildsexualabusematerial online.”

Globe

“Astheleadingfull-servicetelecommunicationscompanyinthePhilippines, Globeconnectsitsmillionsofcustomerstomuch-neededonlineservices throughitssuiteofdigitalsolutionsproducts.Initsbusinessoperations,it understandsthatexposuretothedigitalworldalsocomeswithvulnerabilities

andchallenges.Underits#MakeITSafeprogramme,Globepartneredwiththe InternetWatchFoundation(IWF)tobolstertheirfightagainstonlinesexual abuseandexploitationofchildrenbyblocking,reporting,andremoving sensitivecontentwithinitsonlinenetworktopromotechildsafety.In2022, GlobeandIWFcelebratedWorldSaferInternetDayalongsidepartnersfrom UNICEFPhilippinesandtheSaferKidsPHConsortium,CitizenWatch,and BantayKonsyumer,Kalsada,Kuryente(BK3)throughavirtualpublicwebinar thathighlightedtheimportanceofholisticcooperationamongthepublicand privatesectors,internationalandcivilsocietyorganisations,anddigitalcitizens infightingonlinesexualabuseandexploitationofchildren.Globehasinvested over$2.7millionforcontentfilteringsystemstoblockwebsitesandonline imagerythatpromotechildsexualabuseandpiracy.Todate,ithasblockeda totalof360,106URLsand1,614domainslinkedtochildsexualabusematerial withtheIWF.Globeremainssteadfastinitscommitmenttokeepits customerssafeintheirinteractionsonline.”

Cloudflare

“TheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)Memberservicesareintegral componentstoCloudflare’schildsafetyeffortsacrossourvastglobalnetwork andthemillionsofwebpropertiesthatuseourservices.Cloudflaregreatly valuestheexpertiseanddedicationoftheIWFasweworktogetherin supportingthecriticalmissionoftheswiftdetectionandremovalofchild sexualabusematerial.”

SafetoNet

“SafeToNetisaMemberoftheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)andregular attendeeattheFundingCouncilmeetings.TheroletheIWFplayinworldwide effortstotackleonlineharmsiswellknownandrightfullywidely acknowledgedandlauded.Inaddition,theassistance,andopportunitiesthey providetocompaniessuchasSafeToNettopartneranddevelopinnovative technologiesispriceless.Overthepastfewmonths,wehaveworkedclosely withthefantasticinformationtechnologyteamledbyIWFCTODanSextonto jointlycreatetechnologythatseekstopreventthecreationandwidespread distributionofchildsexualabusematerial.”

Zoom

“Halfamillionbusinessesandhundredsofthousandsofschoolsandhigher educationinstitutionsgloballychooseZoomfortheircriticalcommunications. Wetakeseriouslyourresponsibilitytoensurethesafety,privacyandsecurity ofourusersandtheirdata,butthisworkisnotdonealone.Zoomisaproud MemberoftheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)andourmembershipisa criticalelementinourefforttocombatchildsexualabusematerialonline.We arefortunateonadailybasistocollaboratewith,andlearnfrom,non-profits, industrypeersandgovernmentinstitutionstorefineourpoliciesandhowwe detect,deterandpreventthespreadofchildsexualabusematerialonline.We lookforwardtoworkingcloselywiththeIWFonoursharedmissioninthe yearsahead.”

WelshGovernment

“Asagovernment,weareabsolutelycommittedtoplayingourpartinkeeping childrenandyoungpeoplesafeonline.Weareproudthatwewerethefirst governmentbodytobecomeaMemberoftheInternetWatchFoundation (IWF)in2021.MembershipallowsustodeployIWFservicesonHwb,the nationaldigitallearningplatforminWales.Aswellashelpingtokeepour learnerssafeonline,weconsiderourmembershipasanimportantwayto supportIWF’songoingworktoeliminateonlinechildsexualabusecontent globallyandensurethevitalcontinuationoftheirreportservices.Wehave renewedourmembershipfor2022-23andvalueIWFmembershipasacore partofourHwbservice.”

NetSupport

“PartofNetSupport’smissionistosupportsaferonlineenvironmentsin schoolsthroughoureducationsolutions.Wehaveimmenserespectforthe valuableandchallengingworktheInternetWatchFoundationdoes,andwe areproudtoincorporatetheirkeywordlistintoourtechnologytohelpus protectthousandsofstudentsworldwidefromonlinerisksastheylearn.”–Al Kingsley,NetSupportCEO

G2WebServices

“G2isproudtohaveworkedalongsidetheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF) since2014.Thelevelofknowledgeanddedicationshownbytheteamis outstanding.TheservicesIWFprovideinriddingtheinternetofchildsexual

abusematerialareinvaluable.WewillcontinuetoworkwiththeIWFin combattingchildexploitationandcreatingasaferdigitallandscapeforchildren acrosstheglobe.”

Converge

“TheInternetWatchFoundation(IWF)hasbeeninstrumentalinthesafer internetadvocacyofConverge.Ithashelpedthecompanyputforwardits campaignagainsttheonlinesexualabuseandexploitationofchildrenby blockingunsafesitesinitsnetwork.ThetimelyadviceofIWFandprompt communicationshaveallowedConvergetoactdecisivelyonissuesthatmatter mosttoourcustomersandthesocietyingeneral.ByprovidingConvergewith qualityinformationonmaliciouswebsites,thecompanycanfilteritsnetwork.

Theconsistentupdateshavehelpedthecompany’snetworkoperationsteam tokeepupwithdangeroustrendsonline.Movingforward,Convergeseesits partnershipwithIWFasanintegralpartofitsadvocacies.Convergeseesthis collaborationasafoundationinitsjourneytocreateabetter,secure,andsafe digitalhighwayforthemostvulnerableonlineusers–ourchildren.”

IWF reporting portals

Manycountriesaroundtheworldhavenocurrentwayfortheircitizensto reportsuspectedonlinechildsexualabuseimagery.Thisiswhywehave establishedaglobalnetworkofreportingportalswhichprovideanonlinelink directlytoourteamofexpertanalystsintheUK.

Weworkinpartnershipwithlocalgovernment,police,industry,fundersand charitiestosetupandpromotetheportals,whicharecustomisedwebpages locallybrandedtosuitthehostcountry.Whenreportsareconfirmedas criminalbytheteaminourUKHotline,weworktohavetheimagesandvideos removedfromtheinternet.

We’reproudtohave50activeportalstoday–51includingtheUK–whichgive billionsofpeoplegloballyasafeplacetoreportsuspectedpicturesandvideos onlineandhelptopreventtherepeatvictimisationofthosewho’vealready sufferedtheworstkindsofabuse.

In2022wepartneredwithtwoleadingglobalorganisationstolaunchportals foruseinmorethanonecountryornation.

Ourlong-termpartnershipwiththeUS-basedInternationalCentreforMissing andExploitedChildren(ICMEC)ledtothelaunchoftheIWF/ICMECReporting

Portalforpeopleinanycountrywithoutareportingsolutiontoanonymously reportchildsexualabuseimagery.

ICMECCEO,BobCunninghamsaid:“Childsexualabusematerialisaglobal problemthatdemandsaglobalsolution.Thetraumaforvictimsofchildsexual abusecontinueseverytimeimagesorvideosoftheirabuseareviewed. ThroughourpartnershipwithIWFtobringreportingcapabilitiestoevery citizenaroundtheworld,wearestoppingthefurtherabuseofchildrenand makingtheinternetasaferplaceforeveryone.”

WealsopartneredwithoneofAfrica’slargesttelecommunicationsproviders andIWFMemberMTNtolaunchtheChildSafetyOnlineAfricaPortal.While23 countriesinAfricaalreadyhavetheirownreportingportalorhotline,theChild SafetyOnlineAfricaPortalwillbeaccessibleincountrieswherethereisnotyet areportingmechanismtoensureevenmorecountriesonthecontinentare abletoreportchildsexualabusematerial.

NompiloMorafo,ChiefSustainabilityandCorporateAffairsOfficeratMTN said:“Protectingchildrenonlineisaglobalchallenge,whichrequiresaglobal approach.AsweleaddigitalsolutionsforAfrica’sprogress,wehaveacritical roleinensuringthateveryAfricanchildiskeptsafeonline.Inalignmentwith ourAfricanvalues,weneedtojoinforcestocreateasafeonlinevillageforour children.Onewheretheyarefreefromfear,humiliation,andabuse.Onewhere theycanhaveanormalchildhood.”

Charity of the year

WebeganourCharityoftheYearpartnershipprogrammein2021.Through thisschemewecurrentlyworkwithfirms,bothinCambridgeandfromthe widerUK,whoselecttheIWFastheircharityoftheyearandsupportusina varietyofways,includingrunningfundraisersonourbehalf,andraisingthe profileoftheIWFthroughtheirnetworks.

Thesepartnershipsallowustocollaboratecloselywithorganisationswith whomwesharecommonvaluesandethicsbutwhowewouldotherwisenot normallygettheopportunitytoworkalongside.

Weengagepositivelywithourpartners,helpingthemtofulfiltheircorporate socialresponsibilityobjectivesthroughactivitiesthatencourageteamworkand positivestaffparticipationwhilebringingattentiontothevitalworkthatwedo attheIWF.

Wehopetogrowthisprogrammewithorganisationsthatwouldliketowork withus,whetherfromtheUKorfurtherafield.

BDB

BDBPitmansisalawfirmwithofficesinLondon,Southampton,Readingand Cambridge.TheCambridgebranchchoseusastheirCharityoftheYearin summer2021,andwe’reproudthattheywanttocontinueworkingwithus untilatleastsummer2023.

Fundraisingactivityhasincludedeventssuchassponsorshipofcharityrunners andcharityrunningvestsattheCambridgeHalfMarathonandsellingbranded lanyardstotheirstaffacrosstheUK.

BDBPitmanshavealsoprovidedregularuseoftheirLondonandCambridge officestohostIWFmeetingsandtrainingsessions.Theirnationwideclient

The Annual Report 2022

magazine,BuildingBetter,featuredadouble-pagespreadfocusedonIWF’s tech-for-goodwork,toencouragesupportandincreaseawarenessofour organisation.

ThefirmregularlypromotestheIWFontheirwebsiteandsocialmediaand offersawealthofin-houseexpertise,includingspecialistcharitylawyerswho canbeonhandforadvice.

Trenches Law

WeweredelightedtopartnerwithHampshirefirmTrenchesLawinthe summerof2022.Legalexpertsinelectroniccommunications,thefirm’s responsibilitiesincludeworkingwithalternativenetworkISPsintheUK.Thisis akeyfuturesectorfortheIWFtoengagewithinourworktoprotectall internetusers.

BDBPitmansMarketingDirectorKevinPeake

BDB PITMANS • I

(i)!!!f Watch Foundation

AttheConnectedBritainConferenceinSeptember2022,TrenchesLaw promotedtheIWFattheirexhibitionstandandaidedintroductionsonour behalfwithprospectiveMembers.

Aswellasfuturefundraisingefforts,TrenchesLawemployeesrunanannual charitydaywhenthey’llcarryouttheirchosenfundraisingactivityinsupportof theIWF.

Cryptocurrency unit

In2022welauncheda‘cryptounit’intheHotlinetorespondtothe increasinguseofcryptocurrenciesbyoffenderstopayforsexualcontentof childrenonline.

Ouranalystshadfoundthatwebsitesofferingcryptocurrencypaymentfor childsexualabuseimageshaddoubledalmosteveryyearsince2015.

Werecordvaluabledatafromchildsexualabusewebsitepaymentpages, includinginformationaboutthewordingused,thetypeofvirtualcurrencyand theamount,aswellasthecryptocurrencywalletaddressoftheprovider.

Theunitworkscloselywithlawenforcementfromaroundtheworldwhouse theinformationweprovidetotraceandidentifycriminalsthroughcryptoand othercurrencytransactionsonline.

Analystsintheunitreceivedailyqueriesfromorganisationssuchasthe MetropolitanPoliceintheUKtotheUSInternalRevenueService’sCriminal Investigationbranchwhorequestinformationaboutwebsitesandcrypto addressesthatmaybelinkedtoillegalactivity.

Aspartoftheirresponsibilities,thecryptounitalsoprovidesdatasetstoIWF Membersforspecificprojects,monitorsnewpaymentsitesandsendsregular cryptocurrencyupdatesviavirtualalerts.

Bysharingthepaymentinformationdisplayedoncommercialchildsexual abusewebsiteswithpartnersinthefinancialindustrywecanhelptoprevent misuseoftheirservicesanddisruptfurtherspreadofthecriminalimagery.

DetectiveInspectorDarrenYoung,fromtheOnlineChildSexualAbuseand ExploitationunitattheUKMetropolitanPolicesaid:“TheMetropolitanPolice Serviceiscommittedtousingallavenuespossibletoidentifyvictimsand perpetratorsofonlinechildsexualabuseandexploitation.

“Weareseeingcryptocurrencybeingusedtopayforthedistributionofabusive imagesandtheonlinesexualexploitationofchildren,withperpetrators believingtheycanhidebehindtheanonymityofthesevirtualcurrencies.

“TheIWFhasbeenakeypartnertolawenforcementformanyyearsandthe newlyformedcryptounitprovidesgreateropportunitiestocombatthese horrendouscrimes,rescuechildrenfromsexualabuseandarrestoffenders.”

Glossary

Bannersite:Awebsiteorwebpagemadeupofadvertsforotherwebsiteswith textlinksorimagesthattakeyoutothird-partywebsiteswhenyouclickon them.

Blog:Ablogisadiscussionorinformationsitemadeupofseparateentries,or posts.Mostareinteractive,andvisitorscanleavecommentsandeven messageeachotherontheblog.Theinteractivityiswhatmakesthemdifferent fromotherstaticwebsites.

CAID:TheChildAbuseImageDatabase(CAID)isaprojectledbytheHome OfficewhichenablesUKlawenforcementtoassess,categoriseandgenerate uniquehashesfortensofmillionsofchildabuseimagesandvideosfound duringtheirinvestigations.

CategoryA,BandC:

WeassesschildsexualabuseimagesandvideosbasedonUKlaw,according tothelevelsintheSentencingCouncil’sSexualOffencesDefinitiveGuidelines. SinceApril2014,therehavebeenthreelevels:

A:Imagesinvolvingpenetrativesexualactivity;imagesinvolvingsexualactivity withananimalorsadism.

B:Imagesinvolvingnon-penetrativesexualactivity.

C:OtherindecentimagesnotfallingwithincategoriesAorB.

Childsexualabuseimages/videos/imagery/content/material:Imagesor videosthatshowthesexualabuseofchildren.Weusetheterm‘childsexual abuse’imagestoreflectthegravityoftheimageswedealwith.

Cryptographichash:Acryptographichashisadigitalfingerprintofanyformof digitaldata.Cryptographicalgorithmscanhashasingleword,anmp3,azipfile –anythingdigital.Cryptographichashescanbeusedtoidentifyexactmatches ofthatdigitaldata.

Cyberlockers:Filehostingservices,cloudstorageservicesoronlinefile storageproviders.Theyareinternethostingservicesspecificallydesignedto hostusers’files.

Darknet:Thedarknet,alsoknownasthedarkweb,isthehiddenpartofthe internetaccessedusingTor.Torisanonymitysoftwarethatmakesitdifficultto traceusers’onlineactivity.

Disguisedwebsites:Websiteswhich,whenloadeddirectlyintoabrowser, showlegalcontent—butwhenaccessedthroughaparticularpathway(or referrerwebsite)showillegalcontent,forexamplechildsexualabuseimages.

Domainalerts:Detailsofdomainnamesthatareknowntobehostingchild sexualabusecontent.

Forum:Alsoknownasa‘messageboard’,aforumisanonlinechatsitewhere peopletalkoruploadfilesintheformofposts.Aforumcanholdsub-forums, andeachofthesecouldhaveseveraltopics.Withinatopic,eachnew discussionstartediscalledathread,andanyforumusercanreplytothis thread.

Gatewaysites:Awebpagethatprovidesdirectaccesstochildsexualabuse materialbutdoesnotitselfcontainit.

GPUs(GraphicsProcessingUnits):sometimescalled“graphicscards”are designedtodolotsofsimultaneouscalculationsindependently.Typically, they’reusedingamingbuttheycanalsobeusedtosolvemoregeneral purposecomputationalproblemsonlargescaledata.

Hash/hashes:A‘hash’isauniquecode,orstringoftextandnumbers generatedfromthebinarydataofapicture.Hashescanautomaticallyidentify knownchildsexualabuseimageswithoutneedingtoexamineeachimage individually.Thiscanhelptopreventonlinedistributionofthiscontent.

Hiddenservices:Websitesthatarehostedwithinaproxynetwork,sotheir locationcan’tbetraced.

Imageboard:Animageboardisatypeofinternetforumthatoperatesmostly throughpostingimages.They’reusedfordiscussionsonavarietyoftopics, andaresimilartobulletinboardsystems,butwithafocusonimages.

Imagehost/Imagehostingsite:Animagehostingserviceletsusersupload imageswhicharethenavailablethroughauniqueURL.ThisURLcanbeused tomakeonlinelinks,orbeembeddedinotherwebsites,forumsandsocial networkingsites.

IWFReportingPortal:Aworld-classreportingsolutionforchildsexualabuse content,forcountrieswhichdon’thaveanexistingHotline.

Keywords:Alistoftermsassociatedwithchildsexualabusematerial searches.

Newsgroups:Internetdiscussiongroupsdedicatedtoavarietyofsubjects. Usersmakepoststoanewsgroupandotherscanseethemandcomment. Sometimescalled‘Usenet’,newsgroupsweretheoriginalonlineforumsanda precursortotheWorldWideWeb.

Non-photographicchildsexualabusecontent:Imagesandvideosofchild sexualabusewhicharen’tphotographs,forexamplecomputer-generated images.

Perceptualhash:Aperceptualhashisadigitalfingerprintofanimagewhich hasbeencreatedusinganalgorithm.Perceptualhashesenablenearduplicatesofthatimagetobeidentified.

Proactive/proactivelysearching/proactivelyseeking:Wecannowactively searchforchildsexualabusecontent,inadditiontotakingpublicreports. We’reoneofonlyafewHotlinesintheworldthatcandothis.

Proxynetwork:Thesearesystemsthatenableonlineanonymity,accelerate servicerequests,encryption,securityandlotsofotherfeatures.Someproxy software,suchasTor,attemptstoconcealthetruelocationofservices.

Revictimisation:Revictimisation,orrepeatvictimisationiswhathappenstoa victimwhentheirimageissharedonline.Asingleimageofavictimcanbe sharedhundredsorthousandsoftimes.

ServiceProvider/InternetServiceProvider:Aninternetserviceprovider(ISP) isacompanyororganisationthatprovidesaccesstotheinternet,internet connectivityandotherrelatedservices,likehostingwebsites.

Socialnetworkingsite:Asocialnetworkingserviceisaplatformtobuildsocial relations.Itusuallyhasarepresentationofeachuser(oftenaprofile),their sociallinksandavarietyofotherservices.PopularexamplesincludeFacebook andTwitter.

‘Self-generated’childsexualabuseimagery:Weregardtheterm‘selfgenerated’childsexualabuseasaninadequateandpotentiallymisleading termwhichdoesnotfullyencompassthefullrangeoffactorsoftenpresent withinthisimagery,andwhichappearstoplacetheblamewiththevictim themselves.Childrenarenotresponsiblefortheirownsexualabuse.Untila bettertermisfound,however,wewillcontinuetousetheterm‘selfgenerated’as,withintheonlinesafetyandlawenforcementsectors,thisis wellrecognised.

Top-leveldomain(TLD):Domainsatthetopofthedomainnamehierarchy. Forexample.com,.organd.infoareallexamplesofgenerictop-leveldomains (gTLDs).Thetermalsocoverscountrycodetop-leveldomains(ccTLDs)like.uk forUKor.usforUSandsponsoredtop-leveldomains(sTLDs)like.mobior.xxx

URL:AnacronymforUniformResourceLocator.AURListhespecificlocation whereafileissavedonline.Forexample,theURLoftheIWFlogowhich appearsonthewebpagewww.iwf.org.ukiswww. iwf.org.uk/themes/iwf/images/theme-images/logo.png.

Webpage:Adocumentwhichcanbeseenusingawebbrowser.Asingle webpagecanholdlotsofimages,text,videosorhyperlinksandmanywebsites willhavelotsofwebpages.www.iwf.org.uk/about-iwfand www.iwf.org.uk/Hotlinearebothexamplesofwebpages.

Website:Awebsiteisasetofrelatedwebpagestypicallyservedfromasingle webdomain.Mostwebsiteshaveseveralwebpages.