This is the first OECD benchmarking report examining the policies and procedures related to child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) of the world’s top-50 global online content-sharing services. The report builds on three previous OECD benchmarking reports examining terrorist and violent extremist content (TVEC), applying the methodology to another form of online abuse that is widely criminalised and recognised to be a serious societal challenge. As with the TVEC reports, this CSEA report provides an objective, factual snapshot in time of current practices, providing evidence that not only facilitates better understanding of the services’ relevant policies and procedures, but also of the extent and comparability of their transparency reporting.
Methodology
The starting point for the current study is to replicate this methodology for CSEA and to begin building an equivalent evidence base with a focus on publicly available policies on CSEA and transparency reporting about it. As outlined in the first benchmarking report on current approaches to TVEC (OECD, 2020), identifying the top-50 global online content-sharing services presents a range of methodological challenges.
Sharing or storing content online can take very different forms. Accordingly, a wide diversity of services exist which enable the uploading, sharing, and transferring of digital content across multiple types of services. Relevant services also include communication and messaging services which facilitate audio, voice and video online communications. Following the approach adopted by the TVEC benchmarking reports, services may be divided into three broad categories:
- Social media, video sharing services and online communications services;
- Cloud-based file sharing services; and
- An “Other” category that includes popular digital services for content management and online
reference.
Citation
OECD (2023), “Transparency reporting on child sexual exploitation and abuse online”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 357, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/554ad91f-en.
Record created:
15 September 2026
This is the first OECD benchmarking report examining the policies and procedures related to child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) of the world’s top-50 global online content-sharing services. The report builds on three previous OECD benchmarking reports examining terrorist and violent extremist content (TVEC), applying the methodology to another form of online abuse that is widely criminalised and recognised to be a serious societal challenge. As with the TVEC reports, this CSEA report provides an objective, factual snapshot in time of current practices, providing evidence that not only facilitates better understanding of the services’ relevant policies and procedures, but also of the extent and comparability of their transparency reporting.
Methodology
The starting point for the current study is to replicate this methodology for CSEA and to begin building an equivalent evidence base with a focus on publicly available policies on CSEA and transparency reporting about it. As outlined in the first benchmarking report on current approaches to TVEC (OECD, 2020), identifying the top-50 global online content-sharing services presents a range of methodological challenges.
Sharing or storing content online can take very different forms. Accordingly, a wide diversity of services exist which enable the uploading, sharing, and transferring of digital content across multiple types of services. Relevant services also include communication and messaging services which facilitate audio, voice and video online communications. Following the approach adopted by the TVEC benchmarking reports, services may be divided into three broad categories:
- Social media, video sharing services and online communications services;
- Cloud-based file sharing services; and
- An “Other” category that includes popular digital services for content management and online
reference.
Citation
OECD (2023), “Transparency reporting on child sexual exploitation and abuse online”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 357, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/554ad91f-en.
Record created:
15 September 2026- < Previous Item
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