Over 70 million warnings sent to people attempting to access child sex abuse content

"More than 70 million warnings sent to people attempting to access child sex abuse material (CSAM) online over the last two years, a leading charity has said. The digital messages were sent as part of a screening process that tries to divert potential offenders to support and prevent them from accessing harmful and illegal content."

"Established by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation (LFF), the initiative named Project Intercept is a partnership between the charity and tech giants including Meta, TikTok, and Google. The project works by triggering warnings when people use search terms that indicate they are looking for sexual images of children, or click links that have previously been reported as containing sexual images of children."

"If engaged with, the messages redirect people to self-help resources designed to help them stop accessing the illicit material. The charity said each month in 2024 and 2025, an average of 28,000 users were redirected to its Stop It Now self-help resources through a number"

The Independent describes its reporting approach and funding model, emphasizing fact-checking and broad access without paywalls. It also reports that a leading charity has issued more than 70 million warnings to people attempting to access child sex abuse material online over the last two years. The warnings are part of Project Intercept, run by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation in partnership with Meta, TikTok, and Google. The system triggers alerts when users search for terms indicating interest in sexual images of children or click links previously reported as containing such material. When users engage with the messages, they are redirected to self-help resources intended to help them stop accessing illegal content. In 2024 and 2025, an average of 28,000 users per month were redirected to Stop It Now resources.

Read at www.independent.co.uk