The global child abuse coup generated by AI leads dozens of arrests

At least 25 arrests have been made during a world operation against child abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), said the organization of application of the European Union Law, Europol.

The suspects were part of a criminal group whose members dedicated themselves to distributing images of minors with a generation of AI, according to the agency.

The operation is one of the first to involve this material of child sexual abuse (CSAM), says Europol. The lack of national legislation against these crimes made it “exceptionally challenging for investigators,” he added.

The arrests were made simultaneously on Wednesday, February 26 during Operation Cumberland, led by the Danish police, according to a press release.

The authorities of at least 18 other countries have been involved and the operation still continues, and more arrests are expected in the coming weeks, said Europol.

In addition to the arrests, so far 272 suspects have been identified, 33 searches have been made at home and 173 electronic devices have been seized, according to the agency.

He also said that the main suspect was a Danish citizen who was arrested in November 2024.

The statement said that “he directed an online platform where he distributed the material generated by AI that produced.”

After making a “symbolic line,” users around the world could obtain a password that allowed them to “access the platform and see children being abused.”

The agency said that online child sexual exploitation was one of the main priorities for the organizations of application of the European Union Law, which were dealing with “an increasing volume of illegal content.”

Europol added that even in cases where the content was completely artificial and that there was no real victim represented, as with the Cumberland operation, “CSAM generated by AI still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children.”

Europol’s executive director, Bolle Catherine, said: “These artificially generated images are created so easily that they can be produced by people with criminal intention, even without substantial technical knowledge.”

He warned that the police would need to develop “new methods and investigation tools” to address emerging challenges.

Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) warns that more sexual abuse There are images of AI of children and become more frequent in the open network.

In last year’s investigation, the charity discovered that during a period of one month, 3,512 images of exploitation of sexual abuse and exploitation of AI on a dark website were discovered. Compared to one month in the previous year, the number of more severe category images (category A) had increased by 10%.

Experts say that child sexual abuse material can often be incredibly realistic, which makes it difficult to distinguish the real from the false.