London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Child abuse material found on VR headsets, police data shows

Child abuse material found on VR headsets, police data shows

Paedophiles are using VR headsets to view and store child abuse imagery, crime figures show for the first time.
The NSPCC obtained the data after a Freedom of Information request to all 45 forces in the UK about numbers of child abuse image offences.

It found forces had recorded eight offences involving headsets and VR.

The charity is warning the growing use of virtual reality headsets to explore the so-called Metaverse exposes children to new risks online.

Sir Peter Wanless, the NSPCC's chief executive, said: "We hear from young people who feel powerless and let down as sexual abuse risks becoming normalised."

VR headsets allow access to a variety of virtual games, chat rooms and experiences, sometimes known as the "Metaverse".

Mark Zuckerberg founded Meta, embracing the idea of the Metaverse. He believes VR is an important part of the company's future and has invested billions in the technology.

The UK government expects the spending on virtual and augmented reality technology to reach more than £60bn by 2030.

Catherine Allen is an expert on VR and CEO of an immersive technology company, Limina Immersive.

She said: "This is an emerging, fast growing threat that politicians and technology companies need to take seriously.

"Online offenders will flock to places where there is little scrutiny or regulation and we can see this happening in VR."

The government says that VR headsets and the Metaverse are covered by the Online Safety Bill, which is going through the Lords at the moment.

A spokesman from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said if platforms failed to protect children, "companies will face huge fines and could face criminal sanctions against senior managers".

The figures involving VR are, however, small compared to the overall picture.

They showed a record 30,925 number of offences were committed in the year 2021/2022, involving the possession and sharing of indecent images of children.

The NSPCC warned that "unregulated social media is fuelling the unprecedented scale" of the problem.

Sir Peter said the figures were "incredibly alarming", but "reflect just the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online".

Social media or gaming sites were named in 9,888 offences.

Snapchat was named in 4,293 offences, Instagram in 1,363, Facebook in 1,361, and messaging platform WhatsApp in 547.

From its inception, VR and augmented reality has been used legally in the world of commercial adult sex work.

It has been argued that it would only be a matter of time before the same technology was used to groom and sexually exploit children, as well as to share illegal content.

The BBC first found in 2017 that VR headsets were being used to sexually exploit children.

In this instance, a man based in Egypt was advertising the sale of child abuse images and videos online.

He offered that material in VR, with a price tag of $160 (£132). He claimed that the footage was shot using a 360 degree camera, and offered "technical support".

In 2022, the BBC reported that a Metaverse app allowed children to enter strip clubs.

The NSPCC is calling on the government to create a statutory child safety advocate through the Online Safety Bill.

A spokesman for the Department of Culture Media and Sport said the Bill included "tough, world leading measures" to protect children.

In a statement, Snapchat said: "Snap has dedicated teams around the world working closely with police, experts and industry partners."

It added that if sexual content exploiting children is discovered, "we immediately remove it, delete the account and report the offender to the authorities".

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the Meta Quest headset, said: "This horrific content is banned on our apps."

"We lead the industry in the development and use of technology to prevent and remove this content," a spokesperson added.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×