A Practical Plan to Stop Online Child Sexual Abuse: New Prevention Framework Accompanies Global Threat Assessment

New guidance frames the problem and gives sectors tools to act

Experts from child protection groups, law enforcement and technology organisations have unveiled a new Prevention Framework alongside a Global Threat Assessment that lays out where children are most at risk online and, crucially, what to do about it. The assessment describes how modern tools and services are being used to harm children at speed and scale. The Prevention Framework is meant to move responses away from emergency takedowns and toward stopping abuse before it happens. It offers practical tools for governments, online platforms, police and child welfare agencies to use right away. The report’s release changes the tone of the debate: instead of arguing about responsibility in the abstract, it hands sectors concrete steps they can start using immediately.

How technology is reshaping risk for children

The Global Threat Assessment paints a stark picture of how technology has changed the danger facing children. Abusive content travels faster now, and tools that let people interact with strangers make it easier for predators to find and groom young people. The report highlights several worrying trends: the rise of live-streamed abuse and coerced sexual content, the use of automation and artificial intelligence to create or spread images, and the way encrypted or niche apps can hide illegal activity from casual patrols.

Perpetrators are operating more like businesses, using payment systems, recruitment networks and platform features to scale harmful practices. At the same time, frontline services and police are overwhelmed — many are still using old methods that do not match how the harm happens today. The assessment also flags huge gaps in reliable data and differences in law and enforcement across countries, which lets abusers move where rules are weakest.

What’s inside the Prevention Framework and why it matters

The Prevention Framework is practical by design. It groups actions into four cross-sector tools that can be adapted by any country or company. First is risk mapping — a simple way to identify where technology and services create openings for harm. Second are safety-by-design principles that change products so they do not make abuse easier. Third are privacy-respecting data-sharing protocols that let platforms and authorities cooperate without exposing victims. Fourth are clear performance indicators so everyone can measure whether steps are working.

Each tool comes with ready-to-use templates: checklists for engineers, model contractual clauses for platform partnerships, a triage flow for moderators, and templates for victim-centred reporting that reduce re-trauma. The framework stresses low-cost, scalable fixes — for example default privacy settings, limits on public discovery features, and simple reporting buttons that route cases to trained responders. It also offers guidance for smaller platforms and countries with limited resources, including phased steps that start with the cheapest, highest-impact changes.

How this differs from earlier guidance is important. Past documents focused heavily on content removal after abuse had occurred. This framework flips the script: it privileges prevention, gives measurable targets, and lays out how to balance user privacy with the need to stop abuse. It also acknowledges trade-offs and provides ways to pilot changes and evaluate results before wider rollout.

Who must act and what they are expected to do

The report is explicit about who must act. Governments are asked to set clear laws that criminalise online abuse, fund services for victims, and require platform transparency about safety work. Regulators should write rules that push design standards and make compliance measurable.

Platforms — from the largest social networks to smaller messaging apps — are expected to adopt safety-by-design, invest in moderation and training, and create secure ways to share anonymised signals with authorities. Law enforcement needs specialist teams equipped for online investigations, faster cross-border cooperation, and new protocols for dealing with tech-enabled abuse.

Child protection agencies and frontline services must be resourced to receive and respond to reports, with training that reflects how abuse now happens. Civil society has a role in monitoring outcomes, representing children’s voices, and holding other actors to account. Donors and international organisations are urged to bankroll capacity building so poorer countries are not left behind.

How experts, NGOs and industry have reacted

Initial responses were a mix of welcome and caution. Child-rights NGOs praised the focus on prevention and the practical templates, saying the framework could speed improvement if it is backed by money and political will. Some industry groups said the guidance is useful but warned implementation will add costs and require careful handling of privacy. A handful of governments signalled interest in piloting parts of the framework, and international bodies indicated they would consider the performance indicators when updating best practice.

What comes next: pilots, metrics and policy signals to watch

Practical steps are already set out. The framework recommends immediate pilots of the tools, with early wins focused on default settings, reporting flows and moderator triage. It calls for public timelines: short-term pilots within a year, evaluation cycles to measure impact, and wider rollouts based on evidence. Watch for new national rules that tie platform compliance to measurable indicators, for platform product changes that reflect safety-by-design, and for donor funding commitments aimed at capacity building in low-resource regions.

Sources

• prnewswire.com