(LONDON) — Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, has conducted a “large-scale hit against child sexual exploitation” whose members are part of a criminal group engaging in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence, authorities said.
With support from 19 countries in Europe, a total of 25 arrests were made worldwide in the operation — named Operation Cumberland — that was led by Danish law enforcement and carried out simultaneously on Wednesday, according to Europol.
In total, 273 suspects were identified, 25 arrests were made and 33 house searches were conducted, Europol said.
“The main suspect, a Danish national who was arrested in November 2024, ran an online platform where he distributed the AI-generated material he produced,” officials said. “Following a symbolic online payment, users from around the world were able to obtain a password to access the platform and watch children being abused.”
Operation Cumberland has been “one of the first cases involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), making it exceptionally challenging for investigators, especially due to the lack of national legislation addressing these crimes,” Europol said. “In this regard, EU Member States are currently discussing a common regulation proposed by the European Commission to tackle this new situation and protect children from being sexually abused and exploited.”
More arrests are expected in the coming weeks in the ongoing operation.
“These artificially generated images are so easily created that they can be produced by individuals with criminal intent, even without substantial technical knowledge,” said Catherine De Bolle, Europol’s executive director. “This contributes to the growing prevalence of child sexual abuse material, and as the volume increases, it becomes progressively more challenging for investigators to identify offenders or victims. Law enforcement will need to develop new investigative methods and tools to address these emerging challenges.”
Online child sexual exploitation remains one of the most threatening manifestations of cybercrime in the European Union and continues to be one of the top priorities for law enforcement agencies, which are dealing with an ever-growing volume of illegal content, Europol said.
“Self-generated child sexual material constitutes a significant share of the CSAM that is detected. AI models able to generate or alter images are being abused by offenders to produce CSAM and for sexual extorsion. Such models are widely available and have developed quickly, with output that now increasingly resembles genuine material, making it harder to identify as artificially generated,” Europol said.
“This poses significant challenges to authorities in identifying the real victims. Even in cases when the content is fully artificial and there is no real victim depicted, such as Operation Cumberland, AI-generated CSAM still contributes to the objectification and sexualisation of children,” officials continued.
Europol said that it, along with its partners, will be launching an online campaign in the coming days highlighting the consequences of using AI for illegal purposes and targeting potential offenders where they are most active: online. The campaign will use online messages to reach buyers of illegal content, as well as other methods such as knock-and-talks, social media messages and warning letters.
“Operation Cumberland demonstrates an ongoing coordinated effort by law enforcement to tackle this threat comprehensively, from arresting criminals to preventing future crimes through education, deterrence and providing support to those who want to seek support or help,” Europol said.
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