Record amount of online child abuse blocked as legislation remains in limbo

An unprecedented quantity of online kid intersexual maltreatment contented is being blocked by tech companies portion authorities aimed astatine tackling specified worldly remains undelivered, the authorities has been warned.

There are presently 24,649 web addresses containing specified images of youngsters, sometimes adjacent babies, connected the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)'s database of blocked pages - a grounds number.

The dynamic database is updated doubly a day, with each URL confirmed to incorporate images and videos of abuse.

All the IWF's much than 175 members - which includes tech giants specified arsenic Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft - tin usage the database to artifact entree to these transgression web pages.

Once blocked, the IWF works with these firms, arsenic good arsenic hotlines and instrumentality enforcement, to person the amerciable contented removed quickly.

The emergence successful the fig of offending pages indicates that portion worldly is being flagged, it is not being taken down swiftly capable astatine the source.

It comes arsenic the government's Online Safety Bill, which would purpose to ace down connected specified content, remains successful limbo astir 3 years aft it formed portion of the Conservative Party's wide predetermination manifesto.

'No excuse for measure not to spell through'

The measure was owed to instrumentality to parliament earlier this period aft being pushed backmost from July, but was delayed again pursuing the latest Tory enactment crisis, which saw Rishi Sunak installed arsenic premier minister.

Asked for timescale astatine PMQs connected Wednesday, Mr Sunak lone said the authorities looked guardant to bringing the measure backmost earlier MPs "in owed course".

Susie Hargreaves OBE, main enforcement of the IWF, told Sky News that the UK had gone from "leading the satellite to lagging behind" arsenic a effect of the delays.

"We are crying retired for this regularisation to spell through," she said.

"It's not bully capable immoderate much that it keeps being postponed. It's indispensable to get this done this year.

"Children are astatine immense risk, and it's the government's motivation work to present what they promised."

'Tens of thousands' of online kid enactment offences

It comes conscionable a week aft probe by the NSPCC estimated that much than 13,000 online kid enactment offences were recorded implicit the summer.

More than 100 grooming offences and different specified crimes are apt being registered by constabulary each time portion the online information authorities remains retired of sight, the foundation said.

The hold is thought to beryllium down to the bill's vague explanation of "online harm", arsenic critics suggest it would springiness the authorities excessively overmuch powerfulness to dictate net discourse.

Ms Hargreaves said: "I recognize determination are concerns astir the ineligible but harmful content, and privacy, but our concerns are astir the children and the images they see.

"Everybody, whether manufacture oregon NGOs, we are conscionable truthful hopeless for this regularisation to travel successful and cognize wherever we basal and enactment immoderate of these measures successful place."

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has said it volition instrumentality authorities to parliament "as soon arsenic possible."