The prime minister has been urged to close a legal loophole as online images of child sex abuse hit a record high in 2014.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a charity that removes child abuse images, has written to Sir Keir Starmer to warn the new Online Safety Act will be a missed opportunity without his intervention.
The new regulations leave “gaping loopholes for criminals to exploit” said IWF interim chief executive Derek Ray-Hill, as he urged Sir Keir to act in light of the escalating threat.
The charity has published new data revealing 2024 was the worst year on record for online child sexual abuse imagery, with nearly 300,000 web pages uncovered, each containing at least one, if not hundreds or thousands, of images and videos.
In his former role as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Sir Keir was the first to authorise the IWF to start proactively hunting down child sexual abuse imagery.
“Now, we need him to act decisively again,” said Mr Ray-Hill.
“The new regulations we’ve all worked so hard to bring in threaten to leave gaping loopholes for criminals to exploit.
“The solutions are here, now. They aren’t pie-in-the-sky solutions for the future. They exist, and they are trusted. Big tech just needs to be instructed to switch them on.”
In 2024, the IWF acted to remove images or videos of children suffering sexual abuse, or links to that content, on 291,270 webpages, which is the most child sexual abuse webpages ever discovered in its 29-year history.
In 2014, the IWF began to proactively seek out and remove child sexual abuse imagery from the internet having been granted new powers by Sir Keir in his role as Director of Public Prosecutions.
Before then, the IWF could only legally respond to reports made by the public, tech companies or the police.
The powers granted by Sir Keir had a dramatic effect on the amount of child sexual abuse material the IWF was able to uncover, with 2024’s figures showing an 830% increase on the 31,260 webpages found when proactive detection first started.
The new legislation needs to be toughened up to prevent social media companies dodging the duty to moderate, identify and remove child abuse images, said IWF chair Catherine Brown.
Ms Brown urged Sir Keir to remove a “blatant get-out clause” for tech companies, as well as to prevent illegal material being shared in private communications.
Ms Brown said Ofcom could create a situation where tech companies will be in compliance with their duties if they stick to the letter rather than the spirit of its codes.
She explained the duty for companies to remove illegal content only applies when it is “technically feasible”, which will incentivise platforms to “avoid finding ways to remove illegal content in order to evade compliance”.
“This undermines the Act’s effectiveness in combatting online child sexual abuse,” she said.
“We urge you to instruct Ofcom to urgently review and mitigate this blatant get-out clause.
“Additional legislation should be introduced to ensure there are no safe havens for criminals in private communications.”
A government spokesperson said: “Child sexual exploitation and abuse is despicable and has a devastating impact on victims.
“UK law is clear – child sexual abuse is illegal and social media is no exception.
“Companies must ensure criminal activity cannot proliferate on their sites.”
They explained that from March, under the Online Safety Act, companies will need to take robust action to tackle child abuse material when they become aware of it, training moderating teams to spot child exploitation and testing whether their algorithms are promoting this material.
“If companies fail to act, Ofcom has robust enforcement powers including the ability to issue significant fines,” they added.
“This government is committed to using all available levers, such as the Online Safety Act, to ensure children are protected online, and we will not hesitate to go further if necessary.”
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
