Introduction of new laws to prevent misuse of AI
Following an IWF campaign, new legislation was announced to strengthen safeguards against the misuse of AI to create child sexual abuse material. The measures outlaw the possession and distribution of AI models designed to create child sexual abuse imagery and criminalise manuals that instruct offenders on how to exploit AI tools to generate illegal content.
Safer Internet Day
In partnership with the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), we proudly took part in Safer Internet Day 2025, the UK’s largest online safety celebration. This year’s theme, ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online’, aimed to assess the issue of online scams and allow young people to share their experiences and ideas on how to tackle this problem.
Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children conference
IWF Hotline Director Chris Hughes joined representatives of criminal justice authorities, service providers and civil society for the Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children conference in Rabat.
At the conference, organised by the Council of Europe's CyberSouth+, MA-JUST, and Children's Rights Division, Chris discussed reporting mechanisms for online child sexual exploitation and abuse as well as the crucial role that hotlines like the IWF play in the global fight against online child sexual abuse.
Security Institute names IWF charity partner of the year
The Security Institute names the IWF as its charity partner for the year. This crucial partnership aimed to help raise awareness and essential funds to support our mission to eradicate child sexual abuse imagery online and make the internet a safer place for all.
Google summit on Growing Up in the Digital Age
IWF Chair Catherine Brown and Head of Membership Neil Prowse attended Google’s summit on Growing Up in the Digital Age in Dublin. They joined practitioners from across the world to hear from experts working to advance child safety online and address future risks in online child sexual abuse.
Women in Security conference
The IWF was invited to attend The Security Institute’s inaugural Celebrating and Elevating Women in Security conference in London. The event brought together security professionals united in their commitment to advancing the role of women within the security sector.
Tech Secretary Peter Kyle visits IWF Hotline
The former Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle MP, visited the IWF offices in Cambridgeshire to speak with Hotline staff working on the frontline of the fight against child sexual abuse online. During his visit he learned of emerging threats, including the abuse of AI technology, and saw firsthand the scale and severity of online child sexual abuse.
Illegal Harms Codes come into force in UK
The Illegal Harms Codes, which the IWF supported in developing, came into force, requiring online platforms operating in the UK to implement safety measures, or demonstrate effective alternatives, to protect users from illegal content and activity. This includes preventing the distribution of online child sexual abuse imagery.
IWF presents evidence to the Crime and Policing Bill Committee
IWF Chief Technology Officer Dan Sexton presented evidence in Parliament to the Crime and Policing Bill Committee and welcomed proposed legislation curbing the loopholes giving criminals access to “DIY child sexual abuse generation” tools.
The Protech Project's final conference
We helped host experts, policymakers and stakeholders from across Europe for the Protech Project's final conference in Brussels. At the event, speakers shared insights from the Salus intervention platform, presenting key research outcomes, successes, challenges and actionable recommendations for the future of evidence-based interventions and safety technologies.
Image Intercept launch
We launched Image Intercept, the first free-to-use initiative in the UK giving small business, online platforms and start-ups the power to block known child sexual abuse imagery on their networks using the IWF’s database of more than 3 million individual hashes of criminal content.
IPPPRI25
The International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) hosted their annual conference in London, welcoming national and international experts to present cutting-edge research in the investigation and prevention of child sexual abuse.
At the conference, IWF Communications Director Emma Hardy and Senior Campaigns and Communications Officer Angela Muñoz Aroca presented our award-winning campaign, Think Before You Share, highlighting evidence-led approaches to prevention.
IWF joins international consortium to develop ECHO Survivors Hub
We joined a consortium of partners including the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI), Child Rescue Coalition (CRC), and Protect Children, to develop the ECHO Survivor Hub, a survivor-centred response to online child sexual exploitation.
Highland Child Protection Committee conference
IWF Hotline Director Chris Hughes joined Highland Child Protection Committee (CPC) for their annual conference in Inverness to deliver a powerful keynote presentation on the emerging issues in online safety and participated in discussions around approaches to child protection.
IWF and NCA launch guidance on AI-generated child sexual abuse for professionals working with children
Alongside the National Crime Agency (NCA) we launched a comprehensive guide for professionals working with children to provide essential information on understanding, identifying and responding to incidents involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
US launch of Annual Data & Insights Report at TrustCon 2025
We attended TrustCon 2025 in San Francisco, where we held the US launch of our Annual Data & Insights Report 2024.
Virtual Global Taskforce
IWF Hotline Director Chris Hughes joined international law enforcement and industry partners in Wellington for the inaugural Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) hosted by New Zealand Police.
The four-day event focussed on the financial enablers of online child sexual exploitation under the theme: 'The power of financial data – the critical role of financial institutions in disrupting exploitative networks'.
IWF identifies first instances of AI-generated child sexual abuse linked to chatbots
Analysts at the IWF identified the first instances of AI-generated child sexual abuse images in connection with AI chatbots. The site, found on the open web, allowed users to interact with multiple chatbots that would simulate ‘abhorrent’ sexual scenarios with children. This led to several initiatives and the development of new policy recommendations for governments and regulators.
CyberGuard 2025 conference
IWF Hotline Director Chris Hughes joined prominent international experts in the field of online safety, cybersecurity, education, civil society, technology and regulation in Zagreb for CyberGuard 2025.
At the conference, presented by A1 Croatia and Center for Safer Internet, Chris delivered a presentation on ‘the perennial challenge of combating online child sexual abuse material’ and engaged with discussions on building a responsible and secure online environment for all.
ECLAG calls for strengthened EU child protection laws
We joined child rights organisations in Brussels to champion victims and survivors’ voices in the fight against child sexual abuse.
At the event, the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) called attention to the threat posed to the safety and wellbeing of millions of children as vital EU child sexual abuse legislation faces delays.
Explainer sets out privacy-protecting safeguards for end-to-end encrypted platforms
We published a policy explainer setting out how upload prevention technology can stop known child sexual abuse imagery from being shared on end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) platforms without undermining user privacy.
The guidance explains how pre-encryption checks can block illegal content before it is sent and calls on policymakers to implement these safeguards to better protect children online.
Survey highlights public demand for action in E2EE environments
In a survey commissioned by the IWF, polling company Savanta identified strong public concern around the spread of child sexual abuse imagery on end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging services.
Results also supported calls for the implementation of upload prevention to prevent the upload of known child sexual abuse imagery in E2EE environments.
Dutch MEP Jeroen Lenaers visits IWF Hotline
Dutch MEP Jeroen Lenaers visited our offices to speak with analysts and experts who view criminal content at the IWF to gain insight into the harms caused by AI-generated sexual abuse content. The visit came ahead of important trilogue negotiations on the legislative proposal on the recast Child Sexual Abuse Directive which seeks to strengthen criminal laws against child sexual abuse across the EU.
Think Before You Share campaign launch
We launched phase two of our Think Before You Share campaign to help young people understand the harm of sharing explicit imagery of themselves or others.
The campaign aimed to help young people make more informed decisions online, and encourage parents, carers and educators to start timely conversations around this topic.
Move for a Safer Internet marks third year of vital fundraising initiative
For the third year, Pinsent Masons undertook their Move for a Safer Internet Challenge, which saw teams compete to achieve the longest time spent active over the course of a month. Through this initiative, our partners have raised over £60,000 in vital funds to support our mission.
New legal framework proposed to prevent AI-generated child sexual abuse content
The UK Government announced a proposed new legal defence which would empower designated bodies like the IWF, as well as AI developers and other child protection organisations, to scrutinise AI models to ensure they cannot be used to create nude or sexual imagery of children.
IWF meets Pope Leo at Child Dignity in the Artificial Intelligence Era conference
IWF CEO Kerry Smith joined government representatives, child protection organisations, academia, youth movements and religious communities at the Child Dignity in the Artificial Intelligence Era conference in Rome.
Participants at the event, who were later received by Pope Leo XIV, explored the complex balance between innovation and accountability and committed to safeguarding children’s dignity amid rapid AI innovation.
UK Government moves to ban AI ‘nudification’ apps following IWF campaign
The UK Government announced AI ‘nudification’ apps are to be banned following an IWF campaign revealing nearly one in five reports of nude or sexual imagery of young people involves faked or digitally altered imagery.