ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's communications minister announced Saturday that authorities had resolved approximately 24,000 cyber extortion reports through a government-backed digital platform launched less than a year ago, amid growing concerns over online blackmail and abuse across the country.
“A total of 36,000 cases have been submitted to this application to combat extortion. Sixty-six percent of these cases, approximately 24,000 cases, have been resolved,” Iraqi Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad said, adding that the remaining 12,000 reports were classified as falling outside the application's criteria.
Sanad said the platform, developed by Iraqi specialists and personnel from the National Security Service, had registered around 90,000 users since its launch.
The application, named Ameen, Arabic for “trustworthy,” was launched in December 2025 as the rapid expansion of internet and social media use across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region raised growing concerns over cyber extortion and technology-facilitated abuse, particularly targeting women and girls.
“The core principle upon which this application was built is to combat, address, and confront extortion and extortionists,” the minister said.
Sanad explained that authorities handle reports by removing online content used for blackmail, adding that accounts linked to multiple cases of extortion can be permanently deleted.
The platform, operated by the Iraqi National Security Service, allows individuals to submit reports of online blackmail and seek assistance from specialized personnel, who coordinate with judicial authorities and major digital platforms.
In September, Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri reported that specialized community police units had handled 864 cyber extortion cases between January and September , including 763 cases involving female victims and 101 involving males.
The growing problem has also prompted legislative efforts. In early July, the Iraqi parliament held the first reading of a long-delayed cybercrime bill proposing penalties of up to life imprisonment and fines exceeding 35 million Iraqi dinars (approximately $27,000) for serious offenses, including sexual exploitation, financial crimes and trafficking in illicit materials.
Human rights organizations have criticized earlier versions of the proposed legislation over vague wording that could restrict freedom of expression, while lawmakers have defended the bill as necessary to protect individuals from digital abuses and establish penalties for offenders.
In the Kurdistan Region, local organizations have reported increasing demand for assistance from victims of online abuse.
In December, SEED Foundation President Sherri Kraham Talabany told Rudaw that her organization receives “many, many cases” involving women and girls seeking help to remove harmful online content or stop exploitation.
Talabany said image-based sexual abuse was among the most common problems encountered by the organization, particularly affecting teenage girls, university students and women active in public life.
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