Every day, technology opens remarkable opportunities for learning, connection, and creativity. But as the WeProtect Global Alliance 2025 Global Threat Assessment makes painfully clear, that same technology—when built without children in mind—is also amplifying the risks that children face online. WeProtect Global Alliance

The Problem: A Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape

WeProtect’s 2025 assessment shows that technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse is accelerating faster than our global safeguards can keep up. These harms are not static—they evolve with how children use the internet and how fast innovation outpaces protective design. WeProtect Global Alliance

A few of the most concerning trends:

1. Generative AI misuse is flooding the digital world with convincing but harmful content. Tools once heralded for creativity are being weaponized—deepfake imagery, custom AI models trained on abusive material, and chatbots used to test grooming strategies all make detection and enforcement harder. WeProtect Global Alliance
2. Encrypted platforms increasingly shield offenders and hide harmful interactions from anyone trying to stop them. WeProtect Global Alliance
3. Emerging technologies like extended reality and decentralised networks may bring immersive experiences—and new ways for harm to occur—before protections are in place. WeProtect Global Alliance
4. Financial sexual extortion is now a global threat, disproportionately targeting teens and exploiting digital vulnerabilities. WeProtect Global Alliance
5. Intersecting harms—from self-harm content to violent extremist recruitment to peer-on-peer abuse—compound risks and blur the lines between online and offline harm. WeProtect Global Alliance

And while these risks are rising, the report’s data shows that most major platforms still do not publicly share how they address child sexual abuse and exploitation, leaving a transparency gap that only benefits perpetrators. WeProtect Global Alliance

A Positive Note: WeProtect’s Prevention Framework

I want to be clear: I deeply respect the work of WeProtect Global Alliance and its members. This is rigorous, evidence-driven research that puts prevention at the heart of solutions—a shift the field desperately needs. WeProtect Global Alliance

WeProtect’s Prevention Framework isn’t just a set of guidelines; it’s a call to action for:

1. Governments to invest in prevention infrastructure.
2. Technology companies to adopt safety-by-design principles.
3. Civil society to educate and support children and families.
4. International bodies to harmonise policy and share data. WeProtect Global Alliance

This cross-sector approach reflects something I’ve been saying for years: no single organisation, law, or app can protect children alone. It takes designers, developers, custodians, and communities all working together. WeProtect Global Alliance

Where ChildSafe.dev and RoseShield Fit In

This is exactly why we built ChildSafe.dev and RoseShield. We must stop assuming that safety can be bolted on after the fact. Today’s digital products were mostly created for adults first—children second or not at all. That must change. At ChildSafe.dev, our mission is simple:

Help developers build safer experiences from the ground up. By providing standards, guidelines, and safety-by-design tools, we empower platforms to embed protection into the architecture of their apps, games, and educational tools.

But good design alone isn’t always enough — especially when threats like grooming and exploitation happen in real time. That’s where RoseShield comes in.

RoseShield is real-time, on-device AI safety that detects risk before harm happens, across text, voice, avatars, and interactive environments. It works without building dossiers on children’s data, respecting privacy while strengthening safety.

There’s a powerful paradigm shift embedded in this approach:

1. Prevention over reaction – catching high-risk behavior before harm occurs.
2. Privacy-first architecture – protecting children without surveilling them.
3. Safety by design, not as an afterthought – building platforms that inherently reduce risk.

This aligns perfectly with WeProtect’s recommendation that technology companies apply safety-by-design across products and services. WeProtect Global Alliance

A Shared Vision for a Safer Future

The global threat to children online is real, urgent, and accelerating—but preventable with the right tools, policies, and collective action. Reports like WeProtect’s Global Threat Assessment 2025 remind us of what’s at stake, and they give us a roadmap for prevention. WeProtect Global Alliance

At ChildSafe.dev, we’re focused on enabling that roadmap in practice—helping teams build safer digital worlds that empower children, respect their privacy, and give families peace of mind. And with tools like RoseShield powering real-time protection, we’re moving away from an era of reaction to one of proactive prevention, just as WeProtect advocates. WeProtect Global Alliance

If you’re a developer, policymaker, educator, or parent who wants to see a safer digital future for children, you’re not alone. There are tools, there are strategies, and there is a growing global movement ready to act.

Let’s build better together.