NSPCC: 34,000 online child grooming crimes recorded in 6 years

It follows a dramatic increase in cases reported just last year.

The charity said the crimes have been recorded by UK police forces during the wait for updated online safety laws, as campaigners are urging for no more delays to the Online Safety Bill.

The NSPCC first called for more “robust” online safety regulation in 2017 but the long-awaited Bill is finally expected to become law in autumn this year.

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However, it has faced a “lengthy route” to the statute book with repeated changes and delays to the proposed legislation.

Citing data from 42 UK police forces, the NSPCC said that 6,350 offences related to sexual communication with a child were recorded last year – a rise of 82% since the offence was introduced in 2017/18.

The data shows that 73% of the crimes involved either Snapchat or Meta-linked websites, with 5,500 offences taking place against primary school-age children.

The charity said the figures also showed that in cases where the gender of the victim was known, 83% of social media grooming cases in the last six years took place against girls.

We have published a report on connected technology and smart devices.

Our report considers the potential benefits and harms of this technology.

Of particular concern is tech abuse; we call on the Government to make tackling this a priority.

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— Culture, Media and Sport Committee (@CommonsCMS) August 7, 2023

Around 150 apps, games and websites were also used to target children, according to the police data.

NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless said: “Today’s research highlights the sheer scale of child abuse happening on social media and the human cost of fundamentally unsafe products.

“The number of offences must serve as a reminder of why the Online Safety Bill is so important and why the ground-breaking protections it will give children are desperately needed.

“We’re pleased the government has listened and strengthened the legislation so companies must tackle how their sites contribute to child sexual abuse in a tough but proportionate way, including in private messaging.”

Why will children be protected from abuse under the new Online Safety Bill?

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We want the Online Safety Bill to keep as many children safe as possible.

Thanks to your help and support, the Govt. have listened and made the bill even stronger.

We’re pleased to see these three big changes introduced recently ????

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— NSPCC (@NSPCC) July 21, 2023

The NSPCC argues that the Bill is vital if children are to be protected from abuse.

This is because if passed, it would introduce tougher duties on firms and tech bosses to protect young users.

But the NSPCC also wants assurances that the legislation will regulate new technologies, such as AI.

Sir Peter added: “It’s now up to tech firms, including those highlighted by these stark figures today, to make sure their current sites and future services do not put children at unacceptable risk of abuse.”

A government spokesman said: “This is exactly why we are bringing forward our landmark Online Safety Bill, which will become law in a matter of months — and as recognised, we’ve bolstered the Bill along the way to strengthen protections for children.

“We’re working closely with Ofcom to make sure these are enforced as soon as possible so children are protected, and in the meantime, law enforcement has been working closely with social media platforms to bring perpetrators to justice for the abhorrent crimes that are committed online.”