Data shows how criminals are using private messaging platforms to manipulate and groom children

The data in detail

Online grooming offences have hit record levels across the UK, with Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Facebook emerging as the top platforms where these crimes take place.

The figures, provided by 44 UK police forces, show that 7,263 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded last year. Where police forces could be directly compared, the number of crimes had almost doubled from the first year of when the offence came into force in 2017/18.^{1 2}

Of the 2,111 offences where police could identify the platform used, 40% took place on Snapchat, 9% on WhatsApp and 9% on Facebook and Instagram.

Where gender was known, 80% of children targeted were girls. Meanwhile, the youngest victim of online grooming recorded was a 4-year-old boy.

We’re highlighting that while these are the offences recorded by police, the real number of crimes is likely to be much higher due to abuse happening in private spaces where harms can be harder to detect.

To tackle the issue, we’re publishing new research with solutions that can be used to prevent, detect and disrupt grooming in private messaging spaces.

Online child sexual abuse crimes can have a long-term impact on a child, leaving them with feelings of guilt, shame, depression, confusion, anxiety and fear.

Our new research

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

We’re urging Ofcom and tech companies to take swift action on the recommendations set out in the report, so that they can better identify and prevent online grooming.

Our recommendations include:

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

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

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