Key points
- Main suspect in the case, a Danish national was arrested last November
- Online child sexual exploitation remains one of the most threatening manifestations of cybercrime in the EU: Europol
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: A global campaign has led to at least 25 arrests over child sex content generated by artificial intelligence and distributed online, Europol said Friday.
“Operation Cumberland has been one of the first cases involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material, making it exceptionally challenging for investigators due to the lack of national legislation addressing these crimes,” the Hague-based European police agency said in a statement, according to AFP.
Operation Cumberland
The majority of the arrests were made Wednesday during the world-wide operation led by the Danish police, and which also involved European Union (EU) law enforcement as well as Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
🚨 Europol has supported authorities from 19 countries in a large-scale hit against child sexual exploitation. The suspects were engaged in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence.
Read more ⤵️https://t.co/EauCSKvAnq pic.twitter.com/YZx8B4U4NV
— Europol (@Europol) February 28, 2025
Main suspect
According to AFP, it followed the arrest last November of the main suspect in the case, a Danish national who ran an online platform where he distributed the AI material he produced.
After a “symbolic online payment, users from around the world were able to obtain a password to access the platform and watch children being abused”, Europol said.
Online child sexual exploitation remains one of the most threatening manifestations of cybercrime in the EU, the agency warned.
It “continues to be one of the top priorities for law enforcement agencies, which are dealing with an ever-growing volume of illegal content,” it said, adding that more arrests were expected as the investigation continued.
Laws to tackle threat
Four new laws will tackle the threat of child sexual abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the UK government has announced, it was reported by the BBC in the beginning of February this year.
The Home Office said the UK will be the first country in the world to make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM), with a punishment of up to five years in prison.
Possessing AI paedophile manuals – which teach people how to use AI for sexual abuse – will also be made illegal, and offenders will get up to three years in prison, it was reported by BBC.
