Geographical hosting
Where are webpages being hosted?
When we’ve assessed that an image or video fails UK law, our aim is to get it removed from the internet as fast as possible.
Find out about the UK hosting situation here.
To do this, we perform a trace on the content to identify the physical server that the content is hosted on. This tells us which partners in which country we need to work with. When the content is removed from the physical server – its source – then we can be sure that the image has been removed from any websites
or forums, or image boards etc, that could be linking to it.
“I would also like to share with you that pretty much all of the reports that you have contributed with so far has played vital roles in a number of investigations as well as a number of convictions relating to CSAM and CSE. It has played a key role in getting search warrants approved in many of the cases. A number of these search warrants and investigations has also led to the discovery of more aggravated crimes against children including hands on sexual offences. We are very thankful for your support in these cases”.
Swedish Police Authority
Number of reports by continent
In 2021 we found a smaller proportion of child sexual abuse URLs being hosted in the Netherlands than in previous recent years (41% or 102,676 URLs vs 77% or 117, 544 URLs in 2020).
At the same time, a higher proportion was traced to the United States (21% or 52,774 URLs vs 5% or 8,257 URLs in 2020). It’s important to note, however, the numbers of individual reports, and not just the proportions.
What can we do about removing this content?
We are committed to playing our part globally in the removal of content.
We constantly innovate to achieve this. We’ve set up 49 Reporting Portals around the world as part of our work in partnership with the Global Fund to End Violence Against Children. This has enabled us to develop vital links with other NGOs, governments and police services globally to remove this content.
In the EU we work closely with Europol and Interpol and the Lanzarote Committee of the Council of Europe. Europol have produced a number of threat assessments which have referenced many similar trends we have identified including a rise in self-generated content.
As a key organisation within the INHOPE network (International Association of Internet Hotlines) we work closely with all other INHOPE hotlines around the world to ensure that we alert our partners when we find child sexual abuse content hosted in their country. IWF Reporting Portals are included under the INHOPE umbrella.
Additionally, we “chase up” our partners if this criminal imagery is not removed quickly.
View trends and data for the UK.