Nine million attempts to view child abuse images online were made from the UK in just ONE MONTH of the coronavirus lockdown, new figures reveal
- There were at least 8.8 million attempts in four weeks between March and April
- But the Internet Watch Foundation warns the true figure could be even higher
- Bosses plea with UK companies which do not provide protections to step up
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Nearly nine million attempts to view child abuse images online have been made from the UK in one month of the lockdown, figures released today show.
The shocking data from a web watchdog reveals there were at least 8.8million attempts to access such images over four weeks between March and April.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and its tech firm partners blocked the attempts and warned the true figure could be higher.
Nearly nine million attempts to view child abuse images online have been made from the UK in one month of the lockdown
The IWF compiles a list of web pages with child abuse images which can be blocked by internet providers and tech firms.
Susie Hargreaves, IWF chief executive, said: ‘This is the first time we have had this data made available to us and it just goes to show how important the URL list is.
‘Without it, child sexual abuse material would have been accessed millions of times in this period alone.
‘While we have no like-for-like data to compare it with, the fact so many of these attempts have been blocked suggests the scale of the issue of public demand is quite staggering, and something we need to remain vigilant against.’
Ms Hargreaves said the UK must ‘face up’ to the problem of demand for criminal content from domestic predators and appealed to companies operating in the UK, which do not provide protections, to step up.
She said: ‘Whilst the majority of the UK’s internet connections are filtered by this list, there are still companies operating in the UK which offer no such protections.
‘If we’re serious about creating a safer internet, everyone needs to step up.
‘It’s important to disrupt the availability of these images and videos, and it helps give victims reassurance that the footage of their sexual abuse is not being passed around and enjoyed by these people.’
Deborah Denis of child protection charity Stop It Now! added: ‘These figures show just how vital it is for tech companies to block sexual images of under 18s accessed using their resources or hosted on their platforms.
‘And in blocking access, they should also remind visitors of the illegality of these images whilst also directing them to sources of help to cease this behaviour.’