Sextortion is ‘major growing trend’

Sexual extortion — or sextortion — is a "major growing trend" in the online exploitation of children, according to the EU’s policing agency.

Europol also predicted a rise in the streaming of live images of child abuse, with some paid-for services allowing perpetrators to orchestrate and view the abuse in real time.

An analysis of online crime show underground regions of the internet, such as a darknet, allow users to communicate freely without the risk of being traced.