The UK is intensifying its efforts to target those who profit from the sexual exploitation and abuse of children online, as part of its wider Plan for Change to safeguard children and disrupt criminal networks.

New measures will focus on identifying and dismantling financial and technological networks that fuel this abuse — including those using artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging digital tools to exploit children for profit.

Criminals are increasingly monetising child sexual abuse in sophisticated ways, including:

• Financial extortion (so-called ‘sextortion’ schemes)

• Live streaming of abuse on demand

• Selling access to abusive content

• Hacking social media accounts to distribute material

These are not victimless crimes — they are acts of exploitation driven by profit, and the UK government is committed to exposing and stopping those who benefit financially from this horrific abuse.

International Action, Powered by Technology

The UK is working with partners in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — the Five Eyes alliance — to develop and deploy new tools to detect and disrupt profit-driven exploitation.

This includes exploring the use of AI to:

• Detect AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM)

• Minimise the exposure of law enforcement to such material

• Rapidly classify and investigate imagery using the UK’s world-leading child abuse image database

Ministers Call for Industry Accountability

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has called on international partners to use their full powers to dismantle these abusive networks:

“Every country has a role to play. We need to go further, faster, to stop the abuse and hold to account those who profit from it.”

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips added: “Child sexual abuse is one of the most devastating crimes. When people profit from that suffering — whether by hosting it, selling it, or enabling it — they become complicit in the harm.

As part of our Plan for Change, we’re pushing for faster action from tech companies and the financial sector to stop the flow of money and technology into the hands of abusers.”

A Global Crisis, Demanding Global Action

The UK and its Five Eyes partners have worked together for over a decade to combat child sexual exploitation. The focus now is on scaling up global efforts to reflect the cross-border nature of online abuse — and supporting survivors at every stage.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reported in 2024 that child sexual abuse content was detected every 108 seconds, and AI-generated abuse material has risen by 380% in just two years — underscoring the urgent need for intervention.

At a recent summit, UK ministers heard directly from survivors and advocacy groups. Their message was clear:
Every sector — from tech to finance — must do more, and act now.

Minister Phillips also met with tech companies that signed the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, a framework launched by the Five Countries in 2020 to encourage proactive action across the digital landscape.