The expansion of CyberTipline data published on the Global Platform for Child Exploitation Policy reveals both new insights and areas suitable for further inquiry. The CyberTipline datasets presented on the Platform allow for comparisons and trend analysis both annually and semiannually.
Several notable changes in reporting occurred between the first half (January-June) and the second half (July-December) of 2024. NCMEC is not offering any definitive explanations about why reporting changes might have occurred in any particular jurisdiction at this time. However, NCMEC invites stakeholders to consider whether any legislative, regulatory, political, social, or other factors relevant to specific jurisdictions might have influenced changes in reporting between the two halves of 2024.
While this overview is about 2024 data, additional datasets (in half-year increments) will be added to the Platform and available for similar review and analysis.
See the Terminology page for definitions of relevant words and phrases discussed here.
A comparison of NCMEC’s CyberTipline data from the first half to the second half of 2024 reveals these selected findings:
1. CSAM referrals decreased overall, but not everywhere.
Globally, CyberTipline referrals about child sexual abuse material for identified jurisdictions decreased about 24% from January-June to July-December 2024. CSAM is consistently the most common incident type reported to the CyberTipline (about 97% in 2024). Among the 199 jurisdictions with 50 or more CSAM referrals in each half of 2024, CSAM referrals increased in about 44%, remained the same in about 10%, and decreased in about 46%. Any changes in absolute volume have not been calculated for those jurisdictions (32) with fewer than 50 referrals about CSAM in each half-year period.
| CSAM Referrals… | Number of Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| ▲ Increased | 88 |
| ≈ Remained about the same | 20 |
| ▼ Decreased | 91 |
| <50 in each half-year period | 32 |
Selected jurisdictions with notable changes are listed here:
| Kazakhstan | ▲ 230% |
| Mozambique | ▲ 182% |
| Ukraine | ▲ 72% |
| Venezuela | ▼ 24% |
| Philippines | ▼ 54% |
NCMEC has shared its observations about decreased global report volume in 2024 through its 2024 CyberTipline Report and in testimony before the U.S. Congress in early 2025, specifically highlighting the impacts of report “bundling” and the adoption of end-to-end encryption by Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Those platforms were each among the top reporting online platforms in both 2024 (top 3) and 2023 (top 4).
In May 2024, the REPORT Act was signed into U.S. law, requiring online platforms to report apparent child sex trafficking and online enticement to the CyberTipline. This might have prompted some refinement in reporting practices, resulting in more accurate selection of those incident types by online platforms.
Questions to inform further inquiry and advocacy:
- What factors might have contributed to increased CSAM reporting in some jurisdictions (including Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Ukraine, and others)?
- In jurisdictions where CSAM reporting increased, what have been the top reporting platforms? (Top Reporting ESPs are listed on each jurisdiction's individual Data Insights page; see Ukraine as an example.)
- Were there any political, social, or cultural factors that might have influenced changes in reporting during 2024?
- Did online platforms make other changes (aside from bundling and end-to-end encryption) to content moderation practices that might have contributed to changes in detection and reporting levels?
2. Child sex trafficking referrals increased more uniformly.
Globally, CyberTipline referrals about child sex trafficking for identified jurisdictions increased about 260% from January-June to July-December 2024. Any changes in absolute volume have not been calculated for those jurisdictions (199) with fewer than 50 referrals about child sex trafficking in each half-year period.
| Child Sex Trafficking Referrals… | Number of Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| ▲ Increased | 31 |
| ≈ Remained about the same | 0 |
| ▼ Decreased | 1 |
| <50 in each half-year period | 199 |
Among jurisdictions with 50 or more referrals about child sex trafficking in each half of 2024, only the Republic of Korea experienced a decrease in reports of that type. Selected jurisdictions with notable changes are listed here:
| Vietnam | ▲ 7,900% |
| Philippines | ▲ 1,186% |
| Brazil | ▲ 567% |
| United States | ▲ 22% |
| Republic of Korea | ▼ 33% |
In May 2024, the REPORT Act was signed into U.S. law, requiring online platforms to report apparent child sex trafficking to the CyberTipline. This new mandate correlates to the nearly universal increase in child sex trafficking reports during the second half of the year. Notably, while the law was passed in and applies to U.S.-based online platforms, significantly greater increases in child sex trafficking reporting were realized in other countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines, and Brazil.
Questions to inform further inquiry and advocacy:
- Do any legislative or regulatory changes in other jurisdictions correlate to significant changes in child sex trafficking report volume during the second half of 2024?
- What impact might a reporting mandate similar to the REPORT Act make if enacted in other jurisdictions?
- Were there any political, social, or cultural factors that might have influenced changes in reporting during 2024?
3. Online enticement referrals decreased, with notable exceptions.
Globally, CyberTipline referrals about online enticement of children for identified jurisdictions decreased about 9% from January-June to July-December 2024. Any changes in absolute volume have not been calculated for those jurisdictions (110) with fewer than 50 referrals about online enticement in each half-year period.
| Online Enticement Referrals… | Number of Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| ▲ Increased | 27 |
| ≈ Remained about the same | 20 |
| ▼ Decreased | 74 |
| <50 in each half-year period | 110 |
Selected jurisdictions with notable changes are listed here:
| Nigeria | ▲ 109% |
| Philippines | ▲ 104% |
| Brazil | ▲ 36% |
| United States | ▲ 18% |
| Germany | ▼ 36% |
| Egypt | ▼ 62% |
| Dominican Republic | ▼ 65% |
In May 2024, the REPORT Act was signed into U.S. law, requiring online platforms to report apparent online enticement to the CyberTipline. Unlike the law’s enactment correlating with an increase in child sex trafficking reporting, global online enticement reporting decreased in the following half-year period. Notably, the decrease was not uniform across jurisdictions, as Nigeria, the Philippines, Brazil, and the U.S. (among others) each experienced increases while online enticement reporting decreased in jurisdictions as diverse as Germany, Egypt, and the Dominican Republic.
While online enticement reporting during the second half of 2024 was lower than during the first half of the year, 2024 still saw an overall increase of 192% over 2023 reporting levels.
Questions to inform further inquiry and advocacy:
- Do any legislative or regulatory changes in other jurisdictions correlate to significant changes in online enticement report volume during the second half of 2024?
- How does online enticement reporting for jurisdictions known to be sources of financial sextortion relate to the global decrease during the second half of 2024?
- Were there any political, social, or cultural factors that might have influenced changes in reporting during 2024?
- What correlations exist between changes in online enticement reporting for various jurisdictions and changes in online platforms' content moderation practices (layoffs affecting Trust and Safety teams, adoption of end-to-end encryption, prioritization of investment in artificial intelligence to remain competitive, etc.)?
4. Reported generative artificial intelligence (GAI) CSAM files increased.
Globally, the number of files labeled by the reporting online platform as CSAM created or modified using generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools and included in referrals for identified jurisdictions increased about 500% from January-June to July-December 2024. During the first half of 2024, Thailand was the only jurisdiction for which more than 50 GAI images had been reported in referrals, but it dropped to <50 during the second half of the year.
| GAI images in referrals… | Number of Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| ▲ Increased | 9 |
| ≈ Remained about the same | 0 |
| ▼ Decreased | 1 |
| <50 in each half-year period | 221 |
More than 50 GAI images were reported in referrals for nine jurisdictions during the July-December 2024 period.
| Jurisdiction | January-June 2024 | July-December 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| United States | <50 | 900 |
| Nigeria | <50 | 600 |
| United Kingdom | <50 | 200 |
| Japan | <50 | 100 |
| Germany | <50 | 100 |
| Canada | <50 | 100 |
| Brazil | <50 | 90 |
| Netherlands | <50 | 90 |
| Australia | <50 | 60 |
| Thailand | 80 | <50 |
This data about GAI CSAM files is related to, but distinct from, the 1,325% increase in reports involving GAI from 2023 to 2024, as noted in NCMEC's 2024 CyberTipline Report.
Questions to inform further inquiry and advocacy:
- How are regulatory agencies and legislative bodies in various jurisdictions addressing child protection—and reporting of child exploitation—in GAI services?
- As industry investments in GAI continue to increase, to what extent are child safety and content moderation prioritized, if at all?
- As CyberTipline reports containing GAI CSAM are made available to authorities, do relevant national laws authorize and support investigations of such images?
- What policies and systems exist to support survivors of GAI CSAM exploitation in various jurisdictions?
See the Legal Research page for an overview of laws and regulations—including about GAI CSAM and victims' rights—in various jurisdictions.