‘I see hundreds of child sex abuse images a week for my job’
BBCAt home, she is a loving grandmother who loves to spend time with her grandchildren, but at work, Mabel has to watch the most “negative” child sexual abuse on the internet.
She works for one of the few licensed organizations to actively search the internet to help police and tech companies lower images.
Last year, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) helped remove nearly 300,000 web pages, including images produced by artificial intelligence (AI) than ever before, as the number of images of these types has increased by almost five times.
“The content is frightening, and it shouldn’t be created in the first place,” former police officer Mabel said.
“You’re never immune to it because at the end of the day, these are child victims, which is annoying.”
Mabel – not her real name – has been exposed to some of the most depraved and terrifying images online and says her family is the main motivation for taking on the role of analysts.
Mabel calls herself a “spoiler” and says she likes criminal gangs that hinder the sharing of abusive footage and images to make money.
The foundation’s analysts are anonymous, so they feel safe and secure with people who oppose their work, such as criminal gangs.
Mabel, who originally came from North Wales, said: “You didn’t have much work in the morning, you did a great job all day and it was a real bad guy, so I got the best of both.”
“When I delete the images, I actually block bad people from accessing these images.
“I have kids and grandchildren and I just want the internet to be a safer place for them.
“On a wider scale, we work with law enforcement agencies around the world so that they can conduct investigations and even make it possible for gangs to avoid.”
IWF is one of only three organizations in the world that are licensed to actively search for child abuse content online, helping to delete 291,270 web pages last year that can contain thousands of images and videos.
The foundation, based in Cambridge, also said AI-generated images of child sexual abuse have been reduced by nearly five times this year, rather than 51 times in 2023.
The British government last month Four new laws have been announced Process images made with AI.
For Tamsin McNally and her 30 teams, the content wasn’t easy, but she knew their work helped protect the kids.
“We made a difference, and that’s why I did that,” the team leader said.
“On Monday morning, I walked into the hotline and we received more than 2,000 reports from the public that they stumbled upon this image. We receive hundreds of reports every day.
“I really hope everyone thinks it’s a problem and everyone will try to stop it from happening.
“I wish my job didn’t exist, but as long as there is space online, sadly, my job needs a job like mine.
“When I tell people what I do often, people don’t believe that the work exists first. Secondly, they say, why do you do that?”
many Technology company hosts have ongoing legal requirements As employees claim the work has undermined their mental health – but the foundation says its care obligation is the “gold standard.”
The charity’s analysts consult monthly, weekly team meetings and regular well-being support.
Mabel added: “There are these formal things, but also informally – we have a pool table, a huge link to four, puzzle corners – I’m an avid puzzle fan and we can take a break if needed.”
“All of these things come together to help keep us all here.”
IWF has strict guidelines to ensure that personal phone calls are not allowed to be deleted in the office or any work (including email).
Despite applying to work there, Manon – again, not her real name – wasn’t sure it was the job she could do.
“I don’t even like watching horror movies, so I’m totally unsure if I can do the job,” said Manon, who is in her twenties and from South Wales.
“But the support you get is so strong and extensive, reassuring.
“There are all kinds of ways you look at it, and you can make the internet better, and I think there is a lot of work to do it every day.”
She studied linguistics at university, which included work around online language and embellishment, which drew her interest in the work of the foundation.
“The criminals can be described as their own community – as part of it, they have their own language or code to hide,” Mannon said.
“Being able to apply what I learned in college and then incorporate it into the real world and being able to find images of child sexual abuse and destroy the community that is truly satisfying.”
- If you are affected by any of the questions raised in this article, you can access BBC action line
