Child sex abuse victim begs Elon Musk to remove links to her images

A victim of child sexual abuse has begged Elon Musk to stop links offering images of her abuse being posted on his social media platform X.

Hearing that my abuse - and the abuse of so many others - is still being circulated and commodified here is infuriating, says Zora (not her real name) who lives in the United States and was first abused more than 20 years ago.

Every time someone sells or shares child abuse material, they directly fuel the original, horrific abuse.

X states it has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material and that tackling those who exploit children remains a top priority.

The BBC discovered images of Zora while investigating the global trade of child sexual abuse material, estimated to be worth billions of dollars by Childlight, the Global Child Safety Institute.

This material was part of a vast array of similar photos and videos available on an X account. Contacting the trader through the messaging app Telegram led to a bank account tied to a person in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Having been initially abused by a family member, Zora's images of abuse have gained notoriety among those who traffic in such material. Many other victims find themselves in a similar plight, with images of their abuse still being circulated.

My body is not a commodity. It never has been, and it never will be, she asserts. Those who distribute this material are not passive bystanders; they are complicit perpetrators.

Tracking the X account

The dissemination of Zora's images was initially limited to the dark web, but now she faces the grim reality of having her abuse openly promoted on X.

Despite efforts by social media platforms to eradicate illegal content, the enormity of the issue is daunting. Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received over 20 million reports regarding incidents of child sexual abuse material on various platforms.

To combat these issues, the hacktivist group Anonymous intervened in the trafficking of child abuse images on X. One activist described the situation as worse than ever.

The hacker community informed us about an account on X that utilized a non-obscene image of a child. Keywords familiar to traders of this content indicated that the account was involved in the trade of abusive material.

Finding the trader

To expose the trader responsible for selling images of Zora, we posed as potential buyers. They provided their banking details, revealing similar names linked to other accounts.

After tracing a man in Jakarta, we confronted him. He expressed disbelief at the accusations and claimed non-involvement with unlawful activities. Nonetheless, further investigation linked him to the trading accounts.

This situation illustrates a pervasive method for marketing such images, where accounts can quickly replace banned ones and persist in spreading illegal content.

Elon Musk declared the removal of child sexual abuse material as his priority when he took control of X, yet the ongoing trading raises questions about the platform's commitment to this cause.

When Zora learned that her images were being traded on X, she addressed Musk directly, appealing for urgent action to protect victims like herself.

If you are impacted by the issues raised in this report, support is available via the BBC Action Line.