Experts warn of rise in sadistic online exploitation of vulnerable children Source: The Guardian

 

 

This report from The Guardian newspaper cites evidence of predators coercing children into producing sexual photos and videos of themselves have surged globally in the past year. This phenomenon is referred to “sadistic online exploitation”.

This issue has been reported previously focussed on the creation of sexual material which is then used to exploit young people who share sexual images of themselves. This practice  extends this to promoting self harming or even suicide. Other disgusting demands include forcing children to cut themselves, eat their own vomit, drink urine, die by suicide, or harm other children and pets in their homes. Some groups also engage in mass casualty planning, doxing and cyber-harassment.

With the high level of scrutiny and changes to the Law will have an effect but these perpetrators will almost certainly be looking at more devious ways to reaach their vulnerable targets.

Read the full story here.

  

Beyond Borders: U.S. and Australian Families on Online Safety, Screen Use, and the Digital Lives of Kids Source: Family Safety Online Institute (FOSI)

 

Although not UK referenced data this report from FOSI does give an insight into how children and parents view different aspects of the online world on young people. 

Not surprisingly there are some differences about how each view their experiences online and the report picks out some of these differences in the data they collected.  The data provides an insight into  Australian children’s and parent’s perceptions of online life during a time when children’s digital well-being was at the forefront of Australian public discussion – before and after the Australian social media ban took effect.

FOSI writers identified what they considered a striking difference of children reported doing most online activities listed at a significantly higher rate than parents reported for their children.

Read the full report here. 

TikTok faces Ofcom investigation over child age checks Source: BBC News

 

 

TikTok has become an investigative target for the UK's Telecoms Regulator OFCOM.

Ofcom will examine how the video-sharing app assesses if a user is a child and whether it has adequate systems to prevent children from viewing harmful content. The focus of many concerns has become the means by which platforms confirm the age of those that gain access.

Ofcom's review of TikTok's age checks are part of a broader clampdown on sites failing to prevent children encountering adult content, such as pornography, and other harmful material.

OFCOM's Kate Davies, Ofcom's group director for strategy and research,  stated "This is where TikTok comes in. We found that some method of age checks being used by social media are not working well enough".

Read the full story here.

 

 

New evidence on online harms affecting children Source: Source: Youth Justice Board

 

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has today published a comprehensive new 'Evidence and Insights Pack' on Online Harms Affecting Children. 

The Evidence and Insights Pack brings together the latest research, data, and practice examples from across England and Wales to improve our understanding of the risks children face online and how we safeguard them in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

The evidence pack highlights that while online platforms are central to children’s lives, they expose them to severe, overlapping risks:

• Children face a wide range of digital harms, including cyberbullying, sexual abuse, radicalisation, and exploitation.
• Exposure to harmful content and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images have become increasingly normalised among children, disproportionately affecting girls.
• Many children who engage in problematic online behaviours have complex needs or are themselves victims of abuse.
• Inadequate platform design features and a lack of digital literacy among adults significantly increases risk and hinder effective safeguarding.
• Online harms have long-lasting impacts on wellbeing and, for some children, are directly linked to involvement in offline violence.

 Access to Evidence and Insights pack here.

 

New guidance for parents and carers as AI-manipulated images of children become a growing concern Source: National Crime Agency

 

UK's National Crime Agency issued guidance for parents and carers to alert them to the growing threat of children's images shared online being manipulated into AI generated sexual abuse material. 

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have seen an increase in online offenders exploiting openly available images of children to create realistic sexualised content.

IWF analysts found 3,440 AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse in 2025, compared to just 13 in 2024, and the NCA have increasingly seen offenders exploiting AI technologies to target children in new ways.

 The use of AI to manipulate images posted online and turn these against the targets is not something that is easy to block or taken down, particularly when direct communications are used to make contact.

Chief Executive of the Internet watch Foundation stated that "The threat is disturbing. If someone's imagery is online, they could be easy pickings for criminals and anyone, especially children, could find themselves being targeted."

Read the guidance here.