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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Margaret Davis

Websites selling child abuse images double in past year as Jess Phillips hits out at ‘sickening’ new data

Internet Watch Foundation identified and digitally marked 317,101 images of child abuse, meaning tech companies can stop them being shared further - (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The number of commercial websites trafficking in images of child sexual abuse has doubled over the past year, a leading internet monitoring organisation has revealed.

According to the Internet Watch Foundation's (IWF) annual report, published on Thursday, a staggering 15,031 such sites were identified in 2025, a sharp increase from 7,028 the previous year.

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