Former minister calls for phone tech to block live-streamed child sex abuse

A white paper published on November 11 by the International Justice Mission (IJM) and experts in law enforcement, child protection and technology argues that device-level protections — similar to those the government has already committed to for blocking nude images — can be adapted to prevent child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from being viewed or streamed on smart devices. The paper was launched at a parliamentary briefing hosted by Phillips, the former violence against women minister, and Lord Nash, a former Conservative education minister, alongside survivors of online child sexual abuse.

Polling cited in the white paper shows 80% of people support installing technology that blocks abuse on their devices, with 5% opposed. Research by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found that 73% of the child sexual abuse material analysed in 2025 was not self-generated and was likely captured on adult devices. The UK’s child abuse image database held fewer than 10,000 images in the late 1990s but contains 40 million today. AI-generated abuse images identified by the IWF rose from 13 in 2024 to 3,440 in 2025.

Lord Nash said: “We are facing a crisis of online child sexual abuse. Seven per cent of British men admit to some form of online sexual offending against children. This material is no longer hidden on the dark web but on the apps that we all use every day. By the time the police are involved, a child has already been abused and the images and videos have gone round the globe. The material has to be blocked on the phone itself, before the harm is done. The Government deserves real credit for committing to exactly that on children’s phones. I urge it now to extend that commitment to every device sold in Britain, targeted at CSAM (child sexual abuse material), and to lead the world in doing so.”

Jess Phillips said: “Every day, children in this country and around the world are being sexually abused for an audience, and the images are traded and watched for years afterwards. Nowhere is that clearer than in the Philippines, where one child in every 100 has been trafficked to be abused live on camera to order, and where buyers in Britain are among the biggest customers in the world. This should be a source of national shame, and we must stop it. The technology, the evidence and the public support are all there; I want to work with ministers to extend on-device blocking to child sexual abuse material on every device sold in Britain, making children here and over the world safer.”

John Tanagho, executive director of IJM’s Centre to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, said the response has focused on removing abusive content after harm occurs, and the paper demonstrates an opportunity to move upstream and prevent creation, streaming and viewing of CSAM. He called for “devices that do not make or display child sexual abuse material.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are putting in place the strongest online safety laws in the world. This includes preparing world-first legislation to call on the biggest technology companies to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images. We will also give the police the powers they need to keep pace with criminal use of emerging technologies in order to keep our children safe.”