How can I report suspected child sexual abuse material online and to which international organizations?
Executive summary
A person who encounters suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online can use national hotlines, platform reporting tools, or global reporting portals that route reports to specialist hotlines and law enforcement; major international organizations that receive or coordinate such reports include the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) and its joint reporting portal with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), INHOPE member hotlines, and multinational partners such as Interpol and WeProtect Global Alliance [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. U.S.-based reports can be made to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline and to Homeland Security tip lines, while many countries provide local stoplines and child helplines linked into global networks [6] [7] [8] [9].
1. What to do first: use the platform, local hotline, or a global portal
When suspected CSAM is discovered on a social platform, the fastest immediate action is to use the platform’s built-in reporting tools, which many major companies publish guidance and transparency reporting around [10] [5]; if a national reporting mechanism exists, reports should be filed there—examples include national stoplines and child web alert services listed by ICMEC and Child Helpline International [9] [11]. For situations where no national option is available or anonymity is preferred, the ICMEC–IWF joint Reporting Portal allows anyone, anywhere to submit reports that reach experienced analysts [1] [2].
2. International hotlines and networks that receive and escalate reports
The global response to online CSAM is distributed across specialist hotlines and networks: INHOPE operates a worldwide network of member hotlines that accept anonymous public reports and coordinate removal and law enforcement referral [3]; the Internet Watch Foundation runs country-specific reporting portals and feeds reports to its UK-based analysts for assessment and takedown actions [11]. The ICMEC portal and partnerships were explicitly established to give citizens without national mechanisms a route to report CSAM and to support international takedown coordination [1] [2].
3. Law enforcement, U.S. federal options, and when to call authorities
When the material indicates immediate danger, identifiable victims, or ongoing exploitation, reports should be made directly to law enforcement; in the U.S., NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the centralized reporting system for online exploitation and partners with law enforcement, and U.S. Homeland Security provides guidance and a tip line for suspected child exploitation [6] [8] [7]. ICMEC’s model legislation research notes that many countries require ISPs to report suspected CSAM to law enforcement or designated agencies, highlighting the legal interface between hotlines, industry and police [12].
4. What happens after a report and what reporters should expect
Hotline analysts triage reported URLs and materials; confirmed illegal content is escalated to host providers, removed where possible, and referred to law enforcement for investigation, while networks such as INHOPE and IWF exchange information internationally to disrupt hosting and distribution [3] [11]. Transparency reporting across platforms is uneven—an OECD review found that only a minority of top content services provide clear definitions or publish CSEA transparency data—so outcomes and public visibility of actions can vary by platform and country [5].
5. Additional resources, limitations and collaborative initiatives
Beyond hotlines and portals, multilateral initiatives and NGOs like WeProtect and partnerships between INHOPE and ECPAT focus on sector-wide responses, prevention and traveler-related exploitation reporting, providing additional channels for systemic engagement though not direct public takedown portals [4] [13]. Reporting guidance and referral lists compiled by organizations such as Stop It Now and Safe Online can help people locate national phone numbers, child helplines and confidential services, but these resources vary by jurisdiction and language [14] [15]. Reporting channels outlined here are drawn from the cited organizations; any procedural detail not covered by those sources cannot be confirmed in this report.