A record number of British children under 18 are being targeted by online sexual extortion, with reports of sextortion victims reaching 462 in the first half of 2026—a 17% jump from the entire previous year, according to data published today by the Internet Watch Foundation. The figures reveal a sharp acceleration of criminals using nude or sexual imagery to blackmail young people into paying money or meeting other demands. Experts warn that without immediate action on device-level protections, the crisis will deepen.
The numbers paint a grim picture of escalating harm. Through June 2026, the Report Remove helpline—run jointly by the Internet Watch Foundation and Childline—confirmed 462 sextortion cases involving child sexual abuse imagery, surpassing the 394 reports handled in all of 2025. Boys accounted for 441 of those cases, or 95% of confirmed reports. The helpline, launched in 2021, saw just 19 sextortion reports in 2022. That figure climbed to 164 in 2023, dipped slightly to 151 in 2024, then jumped to 394 in 2025. Analysts note that most imagery used to coerce victims was captured by the young people themselves—typically through phones or other devices—after criminals tricked or pressured them online.
Kerry Smith, Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation, said the trajectory is "consistently worsening" and warned that each statistic represents "a desperate child or young person" with a family behind them. She emphasized that on-device controls blocking nude imagery could stop criminals from obtaining compromising material in the first place. Smith added that these figures are "only the tip of the iceberg" and urged the government not to "take its foot off the pedal with online safety." Rani Govender, Head of Child Safety Online at the NSPCC, said sexual extortion can be "devastating" for victims and families, calling on tech companies to act with urgency now that the government has pledged legislation on nudity-blocking technology.
The report identifies nudity-blocking technology as the most promising tool to disrupt sextortion before it starts. In September, Digital Secretary Lisa Nandy told Parliament that the government is working with Google and Apple to require device-level protections that prevent children from accessing or sharing nudity. The Report Remove helpline allows under-18s to self-report suspected nude or sexual imagery, which can then be blocked or removed—even before criminals post it on the open web. The IWF also argues that the Prime Minister's Vision for Young People, focused on mental health, education, and employment, must tackle online threats like sextortion. Without swift government and industry action, experts say, criminals will continue casting wide nets to ensnare thousands more children in what Smith called "harmful, potentially lethal, traps."