Latest news with #NationalCentreforMissingandExploitedChildren
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Worrying trends, unclear data: India's CSAM challenge
The recent CyberTipline data released by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) makes for grim reading. In 2024, India accounted for the largest number of reports related to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) globally with a staggering 2.3 million reports. This data is not just alarming—it is an emergency. While these numbers are alarming, they reveal only half the story. What they obscure might be even more important. We still don't know how many of these reports pertain to unique instances of abuse or how many relate to the same content being circulated again and again. We don't know how many were generated by perpetrators and how many came from individuals who, in horror or ignorance, reshared the material. Crucially, we have no clear picture of how many reports are translated into timely interventions, legal action, or support for survivors. This gap in understanding should concern all of us. Because in the absence of clarity, effective policy and accountability are impossible. And as long as we continue to work in the dark, children will continue to suffer. The lack of transparency and disaggregated data is not just a technical issue—it is a moral failure. Every number in that 2.3 million reports from India is a potential instance of unspeakable harm. But without knowing the context, India's efforts to respond to this crisis are reactive at best. Encouragingly, India has already taken important legal steps to address online child sexual exploitation. Under Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, the creation, transmission, and even viewing of CSAM is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment and fines. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 further require social media platforms and other intermediaries to remove CSAM swiftly upon knowledge or notification and to report such content to Indian law enforcement. Most recently, in 2024, the Supreme Court of India clarified that even the possession or viewing of CSAM is punishable under Indian law and recommended replacing the term child pornography with Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) to reflect the grave nature of the offence more accurately. However, India urgently needs a national strategy—one that is research-driven, coordinated, and survivor-centred. At the heart of this strategy must be a few core principles: · First, we need platform transparency. Major tech companies must be compelled to share disaggregated data with regulators, researchers, and civil society. That means not just how many reports were filed, but the nature of the content, its origin, distribution patterns, and response timelines. · Second, we need robust legal frameworks. Our laws must evolve to reflect the complexity of the digital age. There should be clear legal distinctions between those creating or intentionally distributing CSAM, and those who may unwittingly share such material out of shock or confusion. The law must be firm, but also fair. · Third, we need a massive public education campaign. Many people, especially younger users, do not know what to do when encountering harmful content online. Some try to flag it by posting screenshots. Others share it in outrage. We must teach people that the safest, most responsible action is to report the content immediately to platform moderators or relevant authorities, and never to redistribute it. · Fourth, and most critically, we need a national commitment to survivor support. Children who have experienced abuse, especially when that abuse is digitised and distributed, require specialised care. From trauma-informed counselling and medical support to legal aid and safe housing, survivors need pathways to recovery that are compassionate and sustained. · And finally, we need research. There is an urgent need for academic institutions and civil society to be empowered to study the scale, nature, and consequences of online child sexual exploitation in India. We must stop depending solely on foreign data sets. India must invest in its national data infrastructure while maintaining international collaboration. The truth is, the numbers we are seeing may be the tip of the iceberg. And for each data point we miss, we risk failing a child. This is not just a criminal justice issue. It is a societal one. It is about the kind of digital environment we are willing to accept—and the kind of country we want our children to grow up in. If India is serious about building a safe digital future, then child protection must be placed at the core of our internet governance strategy. That includes robust law enforcement, yes—but also education, prevention, corporate accountability, and above all, compassion. Even one child harmed is one too many. And 2.3 million reports are not just numbers—it is a wake-up call. The question is: Will we listen? This article is authored by Ranjana Kumari, founder, Centre for Social Research, New Delhi.
NZ Herald
30-04-2025
- NZ Herald
More than 1 million NZ child sex abuse online viewing attempts as AI content increases
In 2024, Internal Affairs, Police and Customs received 16,223 referrals from the United States-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children concerning child sex exploitation content. The platform linked to the highest number of referrals (5834) was Snapchat, followed by Facebook (2439) and Instagram (1888). Almost 3000 referrals were assessed by Internal Affairs, including referrals about content involving child abuse, bestiality, and necrophilia. The report referenced one operation that launched in 2020 in response to an offender distributing child sex material on an online messaging platform. It led to the discovery of a network of seven New Zealand-based offenders with 'harmful sexual behaviours towards children'. Two were referred to the police while the remaining five were apprehended on a range of charges, from indecent acts on a child to distributing objectionable material. Two had since died. The operation, which led to the 'safeguarding' of one New Zealand child, uncovered more than 12,000 pieces of child sex material which involved 'infants who were exposed to obvious and intentional suffering'. Across the year, 14 New Zealand children were 'helped to be safeguarded' according to the report. Internal Affairs also identified several emerging harms that could complicate the policing of child sex abuse material, ranging from improved encryption across technology platforms and the growing number of methods to pay electronically for such material. One threat was the rise in 'generative artificial' content. More than 700 reports of such content had been made since 2023. The report said fake images and videos had become 'disturbingly realistic' amid ongoing technological advancement, meaning investigators had to invest more time in determining whether the children visible in the material were real or not. 'This content is becoming easier to generate, normalising this type of offending and encouraging the sexual abuse of children.'
Sky News
24-03-2025
- Sky News
Nigerian crime gangs are targeting young British boys in 'sextortion' scams
Teenage boys in the UK are being blackmailed by Nigerian crime gangs that pose as young women online - with the National Crime Agency offering advice on what victims should do. NCA officials said boys as young as 14 have been targeted with "sextortion" scams on social networks including Snapchat and Instagram. Criminals trick them into sending sexual images - and then threaten to share the pictures with their family, friends and school unless they pay about £100. While most victims of child sexual exploitation are female, the NCA said 90% of online sextortion victims are boys aged 14 to 17. In some cases, those affected have taken their own lives out of fear the images will be shared. Marie Smith, a senior manager at the NCA's child exploitation and online protection command, called the abuse "extremely disturbing". As part of an NCA awareness campaign, she urged victims: "Do not pay - stay calm. We can help. If you pay once, they will just demand more." Sextortion 'unimaginably cruel' Most of the offences are committed by people from West African countries, including Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. "Nothing is off the cards and we hope to hold these criminals accountable," Ms Smith said. NCA director of threat leadership Alex Murray said: "Sextortion is unimaginably cruel and can have devastating consequences for victims. "This campaign will help empower young boys, giving them the knowledge to spot the dangers posed by this crime type and how to report it. "It supports them to understand that if it does happen, it is never their fault. It will also take the advantage away from the criminals responsible, whose only motivation is financial gain. "Sadly, teenagers in the UK and around the world have taken their own lives because of 'sextortion', which has been a major factor behind launching this campaign." Last year alone, the NCA's CEOP safety centre received 380 sextortion reports. In the first five months of 2024, UK police forces recorded an average of 117 monthly reports involving under-18s. And in the US, the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 28,000 sextortion reports globally in 2024 - up from 26,718 the previous year.
Sky News
20-03-2025
- Sky News
Teen boys blackmailed by gangs in 'sextortion' scams - as victims given new advice on what to do
Teenage boys in the UK are being blackmailed by Nigerian crime gangs that pose as young women online - with the National Crime Agency offering advice on what victims should do. NCA officials said boys as young as 14 have been targeted with "sextortion" scams on social networks including Snapchat and Instagram. Criminals trick them into sending sexual images - and then threaten to share the pictures with their family, friends and school unless they pay about £100. While most victims of child sexual exploitation are female, the NCA said 90% of online sextortion victims are boys aged 14 to 17. In some cases, those affected have taken their own lives out of fear the images will be shared. Marie Smith, a senior manager at the NCA's child exploitation and online protection command, called the abuse "extremely disturbing". As part of an NCA awareness campaign, she urged victims: "Do not pay - stay calm. We can help. If you pay once, they will just demand more." Sextortion 'unimaginably cruel' Ms Smith also noted the majority of offences are committed by people from West African countries, including Nigeria and the Ivory Coast - adding that the NCA is "working internationally with our Nigerian counterparts, which is where we're seeing most of this abuse happening". "Nothing is off the cards and we hope to hold these criminals accountable," she said. NCA director of threat leadership Alex Murray said: "Sextortion is unimaginably cruel and can have devastating consequences for victims. "This campaign will help empower young boys, giving them the knowledge to spot the dangers posed by this crime type and how to report it. "It supports them to understand that if it does happen, it is never their fault. It will also take the advantage away from the criminals responsible, whose only motivation is financial gain. "Sadly, teenagers in the UK and around the world have taken their own lives because of 'sextortion', which has been a major factor behind launching this campaign." Last year alone, the NCA's CEOP safety centre received 380 sextortion reports. In the first five months of 2024, UK police forces recorded an average of 117 monthly reports involving under-18s. And in the US, the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 28,000 sextortion reports globally in 2024 - up from 26,718 the previous year.
The Independent
21-02-2025
- The Independent
International efforts to hunt online sex predators explored in TV programme
International efforts to catch online sexual predators are set to be explored in a new TV programme. During the course of Hunting The Online Sex Predators, James Blake, a digital influencer from Northern Ireland, meets victims and speaks to officials from across the globe, including the US, the UK and the Philippines. The programme focuses on cybersex crime, which can range from online grooming to using sexual pictures and video to blackmail a victim, and the livestreaming of the sexual abuse of children. Blake previously presented the documentary Hunting The Catfish Crime Gang, in which he told how his identity had been stolen on social media and then used in scams. In this new follow-up film, he meets victims of cybersex crime, including a female who was just 12 when she was trafficked to the Philippines and abused. It also screens a claim based on University of Edinburgh research which suggests that 1.4% of the male population in Britain has engaged in a sexually explicit webcam interaction with a child – equivalent to more than 450,000 men. Cassie, which is not her real name, said she was trafficked to Manila by someone her parents thought they could trust and was abused over three years until the perpetrator was caught and sentenced to life in prison. 'Every day after school. If I don't do that, he is going to hurt me physically. I thought naked in front of these old men is just normal,' she said. Now at the age of 26, she campaigns to help children, and said she feels safe now that her perpetrator has been brought to justice. 'I don't call myself survivor anymore. I call myself victorious,' she added. Blake also hears about how an online investigation comes together. At the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington DC, he meets UK National Crime Agency officer Andy, and learns that they get around 100,000 reports of harmful content on social media reported to them every day. In the Philippines, he meets another NCA officer who works in a global task force made up of police from countries including the Philippines, Australia, the US and the UK. He learns there that, according to Filipino government data tracking online transactions, men from the UK are some of the biggest consumers of online content exploiting children. Blake described a 'truly eye-opening experience'. 'As someone who has grown up online and works in social media, I would say I am savvy about the digital world, but I had no idea how organised and cruel cybersex crime is, or about the incredible work that is being done worldwide to combat it,' he said. 'We hope this film raises awareness of the dangers that exist online and starts a conversation across the UK about internet safety.' Hunting The Online Sex Predators will be available on Tuesday February 25 on BBC iPlayer from 6am, and will be shown on BBC One and BBC One NI from 10.40pm.
