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Since 2016, there has been a growth in commercial services on the dark web, with dedicated websites offering child sexual abuse imagery for sale.
The dark web is a concealed part of the internet that cannot be accessed through standard search engines and requires Tor or similar browsers. Tor provides anonymity, making users’ online activity difficult to trace.
Owing to the anonymous nature of dark web hosting, these sites increasingly accept payment through a range of virtual currencies, as well as credit cards.
On loading up a dark web URL, we prepare ourselves to see some of most serious types of abuse and some of the youngest children. Some websites are dedicated to depicting only child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and others offer CSAM alongside other obscene, harmful online material. Either way, dark web URLs always feel sinister, and display very disturbing material in large volumes.
Some dark web URLs might focus on certain victims, such as boys only, or girls only. Others might categorise their imagery, enabling users to easily locate their preferred abuse material. Categories might list children by age group, sex, race, or by the sex of the offender. A user might be able to choose a theme, or select the level of harm, from ‘non-nude' imagery to ‘hardcore’ child sexual abuse imagery. The titles of indecent videos read as though they belong on an adult pornography website: graphic, descriptive, promotional – but then they reference the age of very small children and the comparisons end.
Many dark web URLs ask users to pay for site membership, using cryptocurrency. In return it is implied that they will receive access to huge collections of images and videos of children being raped and sexually abused. Many websites will offer ‘preview’ images and videos, to entice bad actors into paid membership.
Preview imagery often depicts very young boys and girls in the most severe categories of harm. Alongside the imagery we might see a display of member ‘perks’ such as ‘lifetime access’ or ‘no download limit’ - all to seemingly convince bad actors into paying for access to a large volume of severe child abuse material.
In addition to paid access to CSAM, some dark web sites offer their members the chance to gain website currency by selling their own CSAM collection, serving to further spread and share the imagery of children experiencing serious sexual violence.