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Report: 70M Warnings Issued Over Child Abuse Material in Last 2 Years
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation said 700,000 people clicked through to support resources as the program targeted illegal searches instead of only blocking them.
More than 70 million warning messages have been sent to users attempting to access CSAM across 131 countries through Project Intercept, a partnership between the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and tech giants including Google, TikTok, and Meta.
Deborah Denis, chief executive of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, said the initiative disrupts harmful behavior 'at the moment it's happening' by diverting users to LFF support resources rather than simply blocking content.
Engagement with support material remained high, with an average of 28,000 users redirected monthly during 2024 and 2025; nearly 700,000 people clicked through to access resources, though experts debate whether the figure reflects the full scale of the problem.
Tech firms including Mega said the approach complements existing moderation systems, while Ofcom, the communications regulator, stated warning messages formed part of its expectations under the UK's Online Safety Act.
Internet Watch Foundation Communications Director Emma Hardy said "innovative solutions" must address encrypted platforms and AI, while Professor Sonia Livingstone noted the rapid growth of online child sexual abuse imagery demands further urgent action.
Users searching for child sexual exploitation on the web will receive a warning message. The two-year-old project has already warned users searching for illegal content 70 million times.