More than 9,600 cases of adults grooming children online were reported by tech companies in the UK in six months last year, a substantial increase in alarming trends. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children noted a 192% increase in global reports of adults soliciting children, with many reports coming from the UK. Snapchat reported the highest number of concerning incidents, prompting law enforcement agencies to intensify awareness campaigns regarding sextortion and the psychological harm it can inflict on victims, including tragic outcomes such as suicide.
Tech companies including Snapchat and Facebook reported more than 9,600 cases of adults grooming children online in the UK in just six months last year.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), have grown increasingly alarmed about the growing threat from sextortion and other crimes targeting teenagers.
The US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) last year received 546,000 reports from tech firms of adults across the world soliciting children, a 192% increase from 2023.
The NCA has launched what it called unprecedented campaigns in the UK to alert teachers, parents, and children to the dangers of sextortion, in which victims are blackmailed into sharing abusive, explicit images.
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