The UK recorded around 39,000 child sex abuse image crimes during 2024 due to an “unacceptable loophole” in the law.
According to Sky News, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) warned that the “loophole” in UK law allows the one-to-one messaging platforms “to harm children and go undetected."
It says the Home Office data found more than 38,685 such crimes happened in England and Wales in 2023/24, which makes around 100 crimes per day.
NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood called the situation "deeply alarming" and urged the government to take urgent action.
He said, “Having separate rules for private messaging services lets tech bosses off the hook from putting robust protections for children in place. This enables crimes to continue to flourish on their platforms even though we now have the Online Safety Act.”
Out of nearly 39,000 child sex abuse image crimes, police recorded 7,300 cases in which messaging services were used.
The police data unveiled that 50% of those crimes took place on Snapchat, 11% on Instagram, 7% on Facebook, and 6% on WhatsApp.
Moreover, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a charity that helps remove child abuse material, in January 2025, warned that codes provide platforms with a "blatant get-out clause."
An Ofcom spokesperson stated, “The law says that measures in our codes of practice must be technically feasible. However, we expect the vast majority of platforms will be able to take content down, and we will hold them to account if they don't.”
Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said that UK law is clear. “Child abuse is illegal, and social media is no exception.”
The spokesperson asserted that the government has introduced “four new laws” to crack down on online child sexual abuse and will not hesitate to go further to protect children from vile online predators.
