Artificial intelligence as a tool for child abuse: the police are alarm!

Artificial intelligence as a tool for child abuse: the police are alarm!

Europol has released alarming messages: In a large -scale campaign, over 270 suspects worldwide were arrested that are involved in the abuse of children about artificial intelligence. The Danish law enforcement agency and police units from 19 other countries cooperated at the "Cumberland" operation, which took place on February 28, 2025. A Danish man who was arrested in November 2024 plays a central role and distributed AI-generated material via an online platform. Users were able to access this content through a symbolic payment, which the investigators presented with enormous challenges. The fact that the images used are completely synthetic and therefore do not represent real victims are particularly concerned. Nevertheless, its existence manifests the perception and objectification of children, warned Catherine de Bolle, the director of Europol, and pointed out the need to develop new investigative approaches.

The role of AI in child abuse

The phenomenon of AI in the context of child abuse shows a worrying tendency. According to NZZ , artificial intelligence is increasingly used for the creation and manipulation of pornographic images of minors. An example from Spain shows how classmates between the ages of 13 and 15 years generated nude pictures of girls from harmless profile pictures, which had massive effects on those affected. By using AI, the perpetrators have the potential to penetrate even further into the dark corners of the Internet and expand their criminal machinations. They not only have a deceptively real images, but also to the production of real children, without actually affecting a child. Europol emphasizes that access to such technologies is more and more popular, which makes it extremely difficult to identify the perpetrators and the support of the victims.

The EU is already working on measures to contain these developments because the lack of specific laws against AI generated child abuse is a central problem. Investigators have to search for suitable tools to distinguish AI manipulations from real material and at the same time focus on the prevention of perpetrators. The threat of AI in the area of ​​sexual abuse of children does not seem to be over, so that increased efforts are necessary to protect children and stop perpetrators.