‘Sharp rise’ in blackmail of children asked to share explicit images

US-based child protection centre reports 82% increase in ‘online enticement’ last year with ‘alarming spike’ in financial extortion

Reports of online extortion of children who are blackmailed after they have been manipulated into sending explicit images of themselves rose sharply last year, according to new data.

The reported financial exploitation of children is taking place against a backdrop of a rise in online grooming by sexual predators, said the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The organisation processes reports of online sexual child exploitation from US tech platforms, with 90% of those occurring outside the US.