Thorn Releases Research on Proliferation of Self-Generated CSAM Among Minors

Thorn published research documenting the growth of self-generated child sexual abuse material, reporting that a substantial proportion of CSAM now originates from minors producing imagery under coercion, deception or grooming rather than through direct physical abuse by an adult offender. The study found that self-generated content is frequently weaponised in sextortion schemes, redistributed without consent across platforms, and used by offenders to establish credibility in abuse networks, with victims often unaware their imagery has entered permanent circulation.

When a child is the source, the point of intervention is the coercive conversation, not the image file. Detection of grooming and sextortion patterns allows Guardii to surface the exploit in progress—an adult or peer pressuring a minor to create explicit material, escalating requests, or deploying blackmail—before the image is produced or shared, alerting a parent, school counsellor or safeguarding officer who can intervene in real time, and addressing the causal dynamic that Thorn's research identifies as the driver of self-generated CSAM production and the trauma it inflicts.