Sites reported record 29.3m child abuse images in 2021

A record 29.3m items of child abuse imagery were found and removed across the internet in 2021, according to data from the US nonprofit organisation in charge of coordinating reports on the matter.

The figure released by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a 35% increase from 2020.

Google made 875,783 reports and Snap 512,522. The adult social network OnlyFans was represented on the list for the first time, with its owner, Fenix International, making 2,984 reports in 2021.

Some companies were conspicuous by their tiny footprint. Apple, despite running a messaging platform and a photo-sharing service, found and reported just 160 pieces of child abuse imagery over the period.

The report highlights the complexity of discussions around prevention of harm to children online. End-to-end encryption, which prevents platforms from reading the contents of messages between their users, has come under attack from the government on the grounds that it hampers efforts to fight child abuse.

But the data tells two stories on the topic. Comparing the reports from WhatsApp and Facebook, which have a similar number of users, suggests that the technology may indeed hide millions of cases of abuse; while comparing the reports from WhatsApp and Apple, both of which offer end-to-end encrypted messaging services, shows how much companies can do to root out abuse even within those limits.

OnlyFans and Apple did not reply to requests for comment.