Social Media Platforms Grapple with Child Sexual Abuse Material

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Social Media Platforms Grapple with Child Sexual Abuse Material

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Social media platforms, including Telegram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok, are facing significant challenges in preventing the distribution and trade of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Perpetrators exploit these platforms, often by posting suggestive content on more public sites like X or TikTok to lure users to encrypted messaging apps like Telegram for the exchange of CSAM.

A February 2025 investigation found at least 23 active Telegram bots capable of generating AI-created CSAM. These AI tools allow users to create sexualized images from regular photos, sometimes of real individuals, including minors, without consent. This technology has made it easier for individuals to create and distribute such harmful content.

Telegram has stated it has a “zero-tolerance policy for illegal pornography” and utilizes human moderation, AI tools, machine learning, and hash-matching to detect and combat abuse. In December 2024, Telegram announced a partnership with the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to enhance its efforts in detecting and removing CSAM from public areas of its platform. The IWF will provide Telegram with “hashes,” which are unique digital fingerprints of known CSAM, to help instantly identify and block such content.

Despite these measures, concerns persist. In October 2024, a Brazilian NGO, SaferNet, reported that over 1.2 million users were participating in child pornography groups hosted on Telegram, criticizing the platform’s lack of transparency in its moderation claims. Furthermore, in April 2026, Ofcom, the UK’s online safety watchdog, launched an investigation into Telegram to assess its compliance with duties to prevent CSAM sharing under the UK’s Online Safety Act. Legal frameworks, such as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in the US, have historically

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