Watchdog finds huge rise in sexual extortion and online child abuse material

According to Hotline.ie, nine out of ten of victims  who contacted it were male, mainly young men, though almost a fifth were boys. File picture: Alamy

Confirmed reports of child sexual abuse material doubled to more than 29,000 incidents in 2023, according to an online watchdog.

Hotline.ie said the number of reports reflects “only a small slice” of the amount in circulation and said that a single report could contain “hundreds to tens of thousands of images or videos”.