A recent report by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has highlighted the growing issue of child sexual abuse images hosted in European Union member states. In 2024, 62% of all child sexual abuse material (CSAM) webpages found by the IWF were traced back to an EU country, with the Netherlands being the most used location worldwide. Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, and Poland also saw an increase in the amount of content they host. Overall, more than 291,000 reports containing child sexual abuse imagery were confirmed, a record level.
The report also noted an increase in content generated using artificial intelligence (AI), with nearly 39% depicting extreme examples of abuse. A tech coalition, including companies like Discord, Meta, and Nintendo, identified over 7,000 pieces of CSAM in 2024 and adopted tools like image and video hashing technologies to remove such content more effectively.
The EU is currently updating its legislation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online, with a proposal introduced in February 2024 to expand the scope of offenses and impose stricter penalties. However, debates have emerged around the balance between child protection and digital rights like privacy. The IWF is calling for the swift adoption of the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation and Directive to ensure proactive detection and criminalization of AI-generated CSAM.
The Interim CEO of the IWF emphasized the urgency of addressing the issue, stating that the EU must not become a safe haven for perpetrators to freely abuse children and exchange criminal content. Major tech companies are also being called upon to take proactive measures in monitoring and removing child sexual abuse material from their platforms.
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