A recent study by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has confirmed an alarming rise in the number of child sexual abuse photos being shared online.
According to the latest IWF study, the numbers have sporadically risen to 78,589 in 2017, compared to over 57,000 child sexual abuse photos discovered in 2016.
The role of the IWF is to take down all such sites immediately it is detected or reported.
The foundation also revealed that perpetrators were using hidden user resource locators (URL’s) to conceal images. IWF noted that 2,909 websites were using this trick to hide child sexual abuse images, which comes to an aggregated 86% increase in 2017 compared to 1,572 disguised websites identified in 2016.
The report said it has increasingly seen minors (11 -15years olds) create “self-produced” content with the aim of sharing with friends via an online platform and the IWF has taken the trend very seriously.
It is obvious that these paedophiles are following the social trends of celebrities which they look up to.
The images from the IWF findings are usually hidden in disguised websites, and only accessible via a specific pathway.
Chief executive of UK Charity Fred Langford said only a click from a curious mind can not only incriminate them but also lead to viewing such illegal content.
Photo Credit: Georgia State University
