Please be advised that this story includes disturbing content related to the sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking of children. Reader discretion is advised.
Teresita wasn’t interested in traditional “girly” things as a child. Growing up in a crowded part of the city just north of Manila, she preferred adventurous play – running around, climbing trees, and exploring empty spaces with the other kids in her neighborhood. “I always loved physical games,” she told TIME with a smile.
Teresita had a relatively comfortable childhood for a working-class family in the Philippines. However, things became difficult when her adoptive father came back from working in Saudi Arabia and couldn’t find a well-paying job, settling for work as a security guard. Soon, the family struggled to afford basic necessities like food and rent. As Teresita remembers, they simply focused on getting by.
Teresita’s older sister took on the responsibility of financially supporting the family. She began working online in her late thirties, providing companionship – including sending explicit photos and videos – to mostly Western men she connected with through dating sites and adult content platforms.
Teresita initially joined these phone calls just to be nosy, but she quickly started building her own group of clients, thanks to her stepsister. It began with simple conversations pretending to be someone’s girlfriend, but it soon turned into requests – and offers of money – for nude photos.
The communications happened through everyday chat apps most people use, but investigators couldn’t see them because of end-to-end encryption. This security feature scrambles messages on your device so only the intended recipient can read them. Unfortunately, a technology meant to safeguard privacy ended up helping facilitate terrible abuse.
It breaks my heart to even write this, but I recently learned about Teresita, a thirteen-year-old girl who was horrifically abused. Starting in 2018, her stepsister forced her to perform sexual acts online – multiple times daily. Imagine being that young and having your body exploited like that, livestreamed for strangers who were directing her and… well, it’s just devastating. It’s a truly sickening example of grooming and abuse.
Looking back, I honestly feel ashamed of what I did,” Teresita told me. “I’d constantly question my own motives – ‘How could I bring myself to do this?’ It was physically unsettling; I remember getting chills, but we were desperate for the money, so I just had to push those feelings down and get it done.
I’m so relieved Teresita was finally rescued back in 2021 by the Philippine National Police after everything she went through with her stepsister. It’s amazing to see she’s now 20 and studying to become a social worker – she’s truly inspiring. She’s bravely sharing her story, even though we’ve had to change her name for legal reasons, because she wants to help other kids and prevent them from experiencing the same abuse. It takes incredible strength to do what she’s doing, and I’m proud to support her.
A shocking number of Filipino children are being sexually exploited online. In 2022, a study by the International Justice Mission (IJM) and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab found that almost half a million children in the Philippines were victims of sexual abuse in livestreams – roughly one out of every hundred children in the country. The average age of these victims is only eight years old, and they often suffer horrific abuse, including torture and rape.
Martin Conley, who manages live streaming investigations for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – a major investigative branch of the Department of Homeland Security with around 10,000 staff worldwide – states that instances are rising. He believes this is now one of the most significant and growing threats to children, representing a new wave of abuse and exploitation.
Despite what many believe, this activity doesn’t mostly happen on the dark web. It actually occurs almost entirely on everyday services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and Telegram, but it’s concealed because of end-to-end encryption (E2EE).
Those who support end-to-end encryption (E2EE) argue it’s crucial for protecting people at risk, like journalists talking to sources, activists in oppressive countries, and companies safeguarding sensitive information. However, this same privacy can also be exploited by those with harmful intentions – including terrorists, criminals, and those involved in the widespread abuse of children – allowing them to hide their actions.
Fortunately, new artificial intelligence tools offer a potential solution. These tools could help platforms stop abusive livestreams and immediately notify police, all without compromising the privacy of regular users thanks to end-to-end encryption.
Despite new technological advancements, they aren’t being used broadly because privacy advocates worry they require hidden access points – or ‘backdoors’. These backdoors could be misused by governments or hackers for mass surveillance. A recent report from the New America think tank in Washington D.C. emphasizes that encryption is essential for how people use technology and maintain their online lives.
As a lifelong movie lover and someone who spends a lot of time online, I’ve been really disturbed by the growing problem of livestreamed child sexual abuse material. It’s sparked a huge conversation about how much responsibility tech companies have to keep us all safe, and it feels like things are finally coming to a head. Just recently, Meta – Facebook’s parent company – was found liable for harm caused to young people in two separate court cases, which is a first. Now, with AI changing everything, a lot of us who care about child safety are hoping tech companies will really step up and use these new tools to better protect kids online. It feels like a critical moment.
Conley points out that the problem isn’t just how hard these cases are to find, but how severely children are harmed. He explains that these kids often experience repeated abuse – a situation he describes as even more horrifying than anything you’d see in a scary movie.
The core issue is finding the right balance between protecting children and respecting people’s privacy. Those who favor better monitoring tools note that we already accept some privacy compromises for safety, like security checks at airports and sobriety checkpoints. However, privacy advocates worry that scanning personal digital communications sets a dangerous precedent, as a system initially designed to protect children could potentially be used for other purposes in the future.
However, things seem to be changing. Last June, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed on the STOP CSAM Act with unanimous support. This law would allow people who were victims of online child exploitation to take legal action against tech companies and app stores that helped their abusers or promoted the abuse. The full Senate is now considering the bill.
As a critic, I’ve seen too many industries fail to protect their most vulnerable users, and now we’re facing that with our kids online. Senator Durbin put it bluntly when he spoke with TIME – Big Tech is choosing profits over the well-being of children, leading to exploitation and abuse. Frankly, parents have been pleading for Congressional action on this for ages, and it sounds like help is finally on the way.
Google has stated it is actively protecting its users. They pointed to their support for laws fighting child sexual abuse material worldwide, as well as a system they use – called hash-matching – that scans files, like recorded meetings stored on their servers, to identify and flag harmful content.
Google stated that when it finds child sexual abuse material (CSAM), it reports it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), saves evidence, blocks access to the content, and takes necessary action against those responsible. Google also works with others to support laws that help protect children online.
Senator Risa Hontiveros strongly disagrees with the idea that current efforts are sufficient. A leading advocate against child exploitation in the Philippines, she fears increasing financial hardship caused by global events could lead more Filipinos to create and distribute illegal child sexual abuse material – a situation she describes as tragically sometimes involving their own children, as she explained to TIME magazine.
Look, as someone who spends a lot of time online, I really agree with what Senator Hontiveros is saying. It’s not enough for these big tech companies to just remove harmful stuff after something bad happens to kids. They need to actually build safety into their platforms from the start! Things like automatically spotting potentially dangerous content, especially on live streams – that’s crucial. Honestly, they make so much money, they should be putting way more resources towards protecting children. It’s a responsibility thing, and it needs to become a bigger priority for them.
Martin Conley is a physically imposing man – broad-shouldered with short hair – and a seasoned law enforcement professional. He spent seven years with the Secret Service before joining Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in 2011. However, even his strong presence can’t protect him from the disturbing and horrific content he uncovers while working undercover to investigate live-streamed child sexual abuse material.
It absolutely broke my heart to hear that the youngest person we saved was just two days old. Can you imagine? A newborn baby… and someone was actually asking to harm them. It’s just awful.
Just how common is the livestreaming of child sexual abuse material? To find out, Conley boots up a special, hidden laptop he uses for this work. As we wait, he recounts how he first encountered this disturbing problem back in November 2012, when a woman from Cebu in the southern Philippines contacted him on Yahoo Messenger – a platform that’s no longer around.
Conley remembers seeing six small children lying on a dirt floor when a woman turned on her camera. She then offered to do anything Conley wanted with the children for fifteen dollars, asking if he was interested.
It took eleven months from the first contact to rescuing the children – a number Conley will never forget. During that time, the mother received 1,971 payments, which Conley believes likely represents 1,971 instances of abuse.
Conley’s laptop just alerted him to an incoming call. He notes it’s been 14 minutes since he started his computer, and the call is likely from someone trying to buy a child – a grim reminder of his past work. He used to receive these kinds of messages roughly every seven minutes when he was actively involved in undercover operations, which highlights just how widespread this problem is.
The Philippines has become a central hub for online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) livestreams due to several reasons: its large population of young people who are active on social media, the acceptance of sex work in some areas, and widespread English language proficiency. However, this type of abuse is increasingly happening worldwide.
Because this crime is hidden and often unreported, it’s difficult to get reliable worldwide numbers. However, even limited research suggests the problem is severe. For example, in 2013, researchers with Terre des Hommes Netherlands pretended to be young Filipino girls online. Over ten weeks on various chat forums, over 20,000 people from 71 countries requested they perform a sexual act on camera.
A recent study by Childlight East Asia, the University of New South Wales, and the IJM surveyed over 1,400 American men and revealed a disturbing trend. Nearly 4% admitted to having sexually explicit webcam interactions with children, and an additional 3.5% said they would consider it if the opportunity arose. This means approximately 1 in 13 men surveyed have either engaged in this behavior or are tempted to do so.
While wider access to the internet through affordable smartphones and 5G is positive, it has unfortunately created a dangerous environment where individuals exploiting children are thriving. The ease of access allows those with financial difficulties to quickly profit by abusing children.
Cybercrime is a widespread problem, seen across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, explains Mike Tsittakalakis, acting division chief at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybercrime Center. While the Philippines has a particularly large number of cases, it’s happening in other places too. Most victims are in the U.S., but Australia, France, Germany, and the U.K. are also significantly affected, according to the IJM.
Livestreaming child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is particularly harmful because it allows abusers to directly engage with victims and feel powerful, while also making it very difficult to track them down. Unlike older, static CSAM files that can be identified and removed using digital fingerprints, live abuse vanishes as soon as the stream ends. As John Shehan from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) explains, the abuse itself doesn’t stop – it simply becomes hidden.
Every morning, Shehan goes to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, Virginia. The center employs around 500 people and also hosts about two dozen officers from various agencies like the FBI, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals, the UK’s National Crime Agency, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Most initial reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) come to NCMEC through its CyberTipline – a worldwide system that processes between 80,000 and 100,000 reports each day.
Investigators verify new reports by comparing them to past cases and looking for trends. They also use publicly available information to connect online usernames with actual people. As Shehan explains, they might search for a Facebook profile, an online ad like someone selling a car, or even posts about hobbies—anything that can link an online identity to a real person.
Companies like Palantir have provided AI tools that quickly scan incoming reports for critical information – things like GPS locations or indications a child is in danger. According to Shehan, these systems flag urgent cases, allowing them to be reviewed and sent to law enforcement much faster.
However, artificial intelligence is also being used by those who create and share child sexual abuse material. AI can change existing images and videos to avoid detection, and it can even create entirely new, fake content. This makes investigations much harder, especially with the already massive amount of material to review. Childlight reports a huge increase in synthetic CSAM – a 1,325% jump from 4,700 cases in 2023 to 67,000 in 2024.
Even though fake child sexual abuse material might seem less damaging, these fabricated videos are increasingly used to blackmail real children into performing humiliating acts, tragically sometimes leading to suicide. Artificial intelligence also enables abusers who don’t speak English to easily connect with victims worldwide.
Let me tell you, tracking down these livestream abuse cases is incredibly difficult. Because of end-to-end encryption, we rarely stumble upon them directly. Instead, investigators have to piece things together from clues – a weird bank transaction here, a tip from a concerned user there, or some digital footprint. I recently learned about Teresita’s case, and it was heartbreaking. They only found her after someone she interacted with online—one of hundreds of men—was arrested in the US with evidence on his devices. The FBI did some digging, linked everything back to Teresita’s stepsister in the Philippines, and finally alerted the authorities there. But honestly, this is a reactive approach, and it only catches a tiny fraction of these crimes. Most victims remain hidden, and that’s truly terrifying.
According to Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jake Marquis, these live streaming incidents are particularly disturbing because they involve individual performances where viewers directly instigate the sexual abuse, rape, and even torture of children. However, because these streams are private, it’s difficult for undercover agents to get involved and investigate.
Tracing money is a crucial part of investigations, but it’s getting harder because so many different financial services exist now. Recently, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in the Philippines learned about three popular remittance services being used in livestreaming scams. “Everyone in the room was surprised – none of us had heard of these companies before,” says Corey, an HSI investigator based in Manila, who requested TIME withhold his last name to protect ongoing undercover operations.
There are ways to stop abuse as it happens, rather than trying to find it afterward. For example, Meta uses tools to identify illegal content on Facebook and Instagram Live, and Google does the same on YouTube. However, neither company has added these features to their messaging apps (Messenger for Meta, Meet for Google). Apple and Google take a different approach with safety features built into devices that can blur nude images before they’re sent, without alerting the companies themselves. Microsoft also launched an AI tool for Teams late last year to detect this type of content, but it only works if users haven’t turned on end-to-end encryption.
I was reading TIME magazine, and they asked tech companies why they weren’t doing more to stop those awful child sexual abuse images being shared live online. Most of them talked about safety and protecting people’s privacy, which is good, but honestly, they didn’t really explain what they were actually doing, or why certain tools weren’t being used more widely. It felt like a lot of general statements and not enough specifics.
Zoom maintains a strict policy against child sexual exploitation and abuse while continuing to support end-to-end encryption. Telegram claims it has almost completely stopped the public sharing of illegal child sexual abuse material on its platform, but wouldn’t address concerns about private conversations. Microsoft also stated its dedication to fighting online child sexual exploitation and abuse across all its services. Google uses technology like data analysis and machine learning to find both known and new instances of this content, but only when the communication isn’t encrypted.
Meta highlighted a 2021 report from cybersecurity professionals that cautioned client-side scanning could pose significant security and privacy threats to everyone, while offering limited and questionable benefits for law enforcement.
Some people believe that carefully designed scanning systems, which protect privacy, are worth some limited compromises. For example, Thorn, a California-based nonprofit, develops AI tools to identify child sexual abuse material (CSAM). These tools are used by over 1,000 law enforcement agencies in 40 countries. Thorn also offers a product called Safer, which 86 companies have integrated into their systems. Last year, Safer detected over 1.3 million instances of potential child exploitation. Instead of constantly monitoring entire conversations, Thorn’s AI focuses on checking select frames from video calls. If something concerning is spotted, the system examines more frames before a human reviewer investigates, blocks the content, or ends the call – depending on the platform’s rules.
It’s not as simple as getting one incorrect match and immediately sending police or a SWAT team,” explains David Rust-Smith, a data scientist at Thorn. “There’s a range of ways to actually use these predictions in real-world situations.”
Thorn’s technology might be integrated directly into operating systems such as iOS. When questioned about Apple potentially scanning live video streams for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the company pointed to a 2023 statement from Erik Neuenschwander, Apple’s director of user privacy and child safety. In that statement, Neuenschwander explained that scanning for specific content could lead to widespread surveillance and pressure to search other encrypted communications.
A different approach involves communication companies using AI to scan data within secure hardware environments – think of them as highly protected spaces inside the device itself. These systems could analyze encrypted information without exposing it to the operating system or any external access. While this wouldn’t be traditional end-to-end encryption, some experts believe privacy can still be largely preserved with what they call “end-to-end-to-end encryption.” However, this idea is debated. As Rust-Smith points out, whether it’s a good solution depends on being practical and understanding where your biggest worries and trust truly are.
When end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is used, law enforcement relies on tech companies to find and share illegal content. Although companies are legally obligated to report such content, there’s a big difference in how quickly and effectively they do so. Corey explains, “I often received late-night calls – sometimes at 1 a.m. – from tech platforms alerting me that a child was being sextorted and might be in danger. Some companies go above and beyond, while others only do the minimum required.”
A few years back, while waiting in line at a New York City coffee shop, Tsittakalakis saw the person ahead of him looking at a photo of two naked children on their phone. He explains, “I just wanted to get my coffee, but I felt like I had to do something, or it would bother me later.”
Tsittakalakis spoke with the man, explained who he was, and inquired about the concerning images. They had a friendly conversation, and the man willingly showed Tsittakalakis his phone. The photos depicted his children in the bathtub, which initially appeared disturbing but were ultimately harmless. The man was first surprised, but later expressed his gratitude.
Although checking the man’s phone was a violation of his privacy, it was also a responsible action, and many believe it was what Tsittakalakis should have done as a professional. The concern extends beyond what appears on the screen itself. A key finding from the 2025 IJM study connected livestreamed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to actual harm, revealing that adults who view such content are six times more likely to have engaged in sexual contact with a child.
Conley, who investigates abusive individuals, says they are among the most dangerous people in society. He explains that they derive pleasure from acts that most people would find horrifying and unforgettable.
As a privacy advocate, I’m relieved to know that even with a warrant, the government can’t just listen in on our encrypted video or voice calls in real-time. It’s good to hear that end-to-end encryption actually works as intended! While the FBI can still get things like call logs and other data about a communication, and even access stuff saved on our phones or computers with legal processes, they can’t force companies to directly listen to the calls themselves. That’s a pretty important distinction, and a big win for privacy.
Many of our online communications are already checked. Email providers like Outlook and Gmail scan for spam and offer features like suggested responses. Even secure, end-to-end encrypted networks do some basic checks to warn users about potential viruses. People generally accept this level of monitoring because online fraud causes huge financial losses – around a trillion dollars globally. However, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) often goes undetected.
Hany Farid, a computer science professor at UC Berkeley who helped develop a system for identifying child sexual abuse material (CSAM), questions why privacy advocates readily protect people from online threats like scams and spam, but often don’t extend the same protection to children from extremely disturbing content. His system, PhotoDNA, catalogs known CSAM using a database shared with organizations like NCMEC.
Some experts believe that end-to-end encryption (E2EE) often benefits companies by shielding them from legal responsibility rather than truly protecting user privacy. Dealing with government requests for data usually involves a lot of legal review and costs money. However, E2EE lets tech companies simply say they can’t comply with those requests. As one former Apple executive, with experience in child safety, explained anonymously, it’s a matter of convenience. “It’s easier to avoid dealing with potentially harmful issues your technology might create,” they said.
Governments around the world are starting to regulate online platforms more closely. For example, the U.K. and Australia have passed laws that make these platforms legally responsible for keeping users safe from harmful content. The European Union is also considering a law that would require platforms to actively find and remove child sexual abuse material and penalize them if they fail to do so. According to Nate King, director of U.S. Congressional Affairs at the International Justice Mission, the potential for holding platforms civilly liable is the most significant change this could bring.
Since most popular apps are owned by American companies, the U.S. government needs to take action to effectively address safety concerns. Recently, when the U.K. fined the American platform 4Chan $700,000 for not following safety rules, the company’s lawyer responded with an AI-created cartoon image. Unlike countries like Australia and the U.K., the U.S. doesn’t have laws restricting the use of encryption. As King points out, the U.S. is central to this worldwide issue.
Advocates believe the STOP CSAM Act is a good first step. After that, it would be up to the courts to determine who should be responsible – things like the operating systems, communication platforms, or cloud services everyone uses. Similar to how we ensure physical safety with backups and shared responsibility, everyone involved may need to contribute to protecting children online.
Farid explains that we have strong security measures in place for physical safety, which is how things should be. He believes it’s not okay to simply dismiss the issue and claim there’s nothing we can do, especially considering the seriousness of the situation.
Senator Durbin believes that anyone deliberately hosting child sexual abuse material should be held accountable.
Teresita wasn’t fooled by the situation. At first, she was upset and fought against being rescued, worried about her family being separated. Now, she’s grateful and understands how much danger she was in.
Teresita says many of her former clients tried to arrange private meetings, often wanting to meet at upscale hotels in the Makati area of Manila. However, her stepsister consistently intervened to prevent these meetings. “Whenever a client asked to spend the night with me, my stepsister would stop them and refuse to continue the conversation,” Teresita explains. “It happened quite frequently.”
A judge will decide on sex trafficking charges against Teresita’s stepsister later this year. However, the stepsister has already admitted guilt to attempting to traffic a nine-year-old local girl and received a 13-year prison sentence. Regardless of the outcome of the other charges, Teresita has come to terms with what she experienced.
I don’t let past experiences define me anymore; they are simply part of how God has worked in my life. I’ve forgiven her actions and honestly feel sorry for her, understanding she was trying to support our family. While I don’t excuse what happened, I never saw her as a fundamentally bad person—just someone who made a mistake. I believe people can always change, and I still see that potential in her.
Teresita believes responsibility for protecting children online also falls on politicians and tech companies. This leads to a central question in the discussion: are these groups truly making every effort to prevent the exploitation of kids online?
Teresita believes that large companies have a responsibility to safeguard their users, particularly kids, and it’s appropriate to push them to address any problems.
2026-07-20 16:10