We’re calling for tech companies to block child sexual abuse images in real time

We're urging tech companies to embed technology on children’s phones that blocks nude images from being created, shared or viewed – and for the UK government to take further action if they fail to.

Our call comes as data from 41 police forces¹ shows that between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, there were 36,775 recorded offences of indecent and prohibited images of children across the UK. That was an 8% rise in recorded offences, compared to the previous year.²​​

Existing technologies can block illegal images in real time – embedding those on children's phones would help stop children being coerced to take and share images later used by offenders, as well as protecting them from seeing nude images.

Platform data

Of the 10,811 crimes where law enforcement recorded the platform used by perpetrators, 43% took place on Snapchat alone – a total of 4,615.

Overall, Meta platforms still accounted for almost a quarter of all offences (24%), with 8% on Instagram, 7% on WhatsApp, 5% on Facebook and 4% on Messenger.

However, the figures in relation to these platforms paint only part of the picture, as end-to-end-encryption (E2EE) means the scale of online child abuse images is hidden – preventing detection and leading to under-reporting on these platforms.

Devastating impacts on children

Without adequate safety features designed to keep children safe online across all platforms, many young people are exposed to the risk of grooming, extortion, online child sexual abuse and having intimate images shared – all of which can have a devastating impact on a child’s life.

One 17-year-old boy who contacted Childline said: “I shared a nude online and it was leaked, so everyone at school saw it. I was in a really bad way, so I moved schools. The nude pictures still come up as random people message me and blackmail me with them. I'm worried about my new friends seeing them and how the leaked nudes will impact my career in the future."

If tech companies do not act, the UK government must make these safeguards mandatory to ensure every child is protected from this abuse online. This is one of the three recommendations we have pushed the government to implement to make children safe.