NCMEC CyberTipline Reports by Year
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children operates the CyberTipline — the centralized U.S. reporting system for online child sexual exploitation. Every U.S. tech company is legally required to report CSAM to NCMEC. Here's how reports have grown:
| Year | Reports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 16,900,000 | — |
| 2020 | 21,700,000 | +28% |
| 2021 | 29,300,000 | +35% |
| 2022 | 32,000,000 | +9% |
| 2023 | 36,200,000 | +13% |
| 2024 | 20,500,000 | -43% |
| 2025 | 21,300,000 | +4% |
Source: NCMEC Annual Reports. 2024 figures are preliminary (methodology change reduced double-counting).
CSAM Reports by Platform (2024)
Not all platforms contribute equally to the problem. Meta alone accounts for the majority of all NCMEC reports:
Source: Platform transparency reports & NCMEC data. Reports ≠ unique victims — one image can generate multiple reports.
Key Statistics
1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys
will be sexually abused before they turn 18, according to NCMEC.
500,000 online predators
are active on the internet every day, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
89% of sexual advances
toward children occur in internet chat rooms or instant messaging, per FBI research.
Average grooming time: 8 minutes
Research shows predators can begin grooming a child within minutes of first contact online.
82% of sex crimes against minors
begin on social media, where the offender uses the platform to gain information about the victim (Journal of Adolescent Health).
Only 1 in 10 victims
tell a parent or trusted adult about online exploitation (Crimes Against Children Research Center).
Sextortion Epidemic
Financial sextortion targeting minors has exploded since 2021. The FBI received 75,000+ sextortion complaints in 2025 alone, with financial losses reaching $33.5 million in 2024. NCMEC tracked a nearly 20x increase in financial sextortion reports from 2022 (10,000) to 2024 (186,000+). At least 30 young people have died by suicide after being sextorted.
Sex Offender Registry
There are over 795,000 registered sex offenders in the United States — a rate of 241 per 100,000 population. Arkansas has the highest rate (640 per 100K) while Connecticut has the lowest (124 per 100K). Many offenders now use the internet to identify and contact potential victims.
AI-Generated CSAM
A rapidly growing threat: predators are using AI image generators to create child sexual abuse material without needing access to a real child. The IWF reported a 380% increase in AI-generated CSAM from 2023 to 2024. This material is increasingly realistic and makes it harder for law enforcement to identify real victims.
Sources
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) Annual Reports
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Annual Reports
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
- Crimes Against Children Research Center
- Journal of Adolescent Health
- Platform Transparency Reports (Meta, Google, Snap, TikTok, Discord, etc.)