Over 70 Million Warnings Issued to Seekers of Child Abuse Material

Project Intercept has issued over 70 million warning messages to individuals attempting to access child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online over the past two years, according to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between the child protection charity and several major technology firms, including Google, Meta and TikTok.

Rather than relying solely on blocking content, the project employs a strategy designed to disrupt harmful behavior. The messages sent to users highlight the illegality of viewing CSAM and provide direct links to support services intended to facilitate behavioral change.

Technical Deployment and Scope

Project Intercept currently operates in 131 countries and is integrated across a variety of online environments. This includes deployment on AI chatbot platforms and end-to-end encrypted services, where only the sender and recipient can view the content being transmitted.

While the foundation has tracked the number of warnings issued, it did not specify the total number of individual users responsible for the searches that triggered those messages.

Support Engagement and Metrics

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation reported that nearly 700,000 people accessed its Stop It Now resources, which offer self-help tools and confidential advice.

Engagement data from 2024 and 2025 indicates that an average of 28,000 users per month were redirected to these support materials.

Despite these figures, some experts suggest the conversion rate from warning to support-seeking is lower than desired given the growth of child sexual abuse imagery online.

Given that 70 million warning messages have been sent, the fact that only 700,000 people click through to get support seems low. This represents disappointing, given that the scale of the problem of child sexual abuse imagery online is growing fast

Professor Sonia Livingstone, director of the Digital Futures for Children centre at London School of Economics

However, Professor Livingstone noted that the system appears effective for those who are genuinely motivated to seek assistance.

since four in five of those people who seek support do engage with the resources provided, that suggests the system is working for those who are really motivated to get help.

Professor Sonia Livingstone, director of the Digital Futures for Children centre at London School of Economics