Tech breakthrough helps IWF analysts assess criminal imagery in seconds

A new clustering technology is helping Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) analysts to assess multiple child sexual abuse images in seconds, rather than hours. The new tool helps link similar images together, reducing analysts’ exposure to the criminal content, and making image assessments 112% faster than assessing single images.

The innovation has been funded by a grant from Nominet, registry for .uk domain names. This collaboration allows the team at the IWF to continue to develop these technologies, vital to creating a safer internet. 

Chris Wilson, IWF Head of Software Development, said: “This makes our work faster and more accurate, and means we can really expand the realm of what is possible for our hotline analysts without exposing them to reams and reams of similar content.”

Tamsin McNally, IWF Hotline Manager, said: “What this means for our analysts is hard to overstate. The new clustering tech gives analysts and assessors more intelligence on victims who have been abused and helps us make better, quicker decisions.”

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