The development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has brought significant progress across various sectors, from healthcare to education. However, behind its remarkable benefits lies a troubling dark side—especially when AI falls into the wrong hands. One of the most serious forms of misuse is its role in the production of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), where AI is used to generate increasingly realistic child exploitation content that is difficult to distinguish from reality. This disturbing intersection of AI and CSAM has now emerged as a new challenge in cybercrime, demanding urgent attention from all levels of society.
CSAM or Child Sexual Abuse Material, refers to any form of visual content—such as photos, videos, or digital images—that depicts the sexual abuse of children. This type of content is illegal and extremely harmful, as it involves the exploitation of the most vulnerable members of society. CSAM is not only a violation of the law but also one of the most severe breaches of fundamental human rights, capturing and distributing traumatic moments of victims without consent and causing long-term psychological damage.
The impact of CSAM is far-reaching—not only affecting the direct victims but also society as a whole. Children who fall victim to such abuse often suffer from severe trauma, anxiety, and long-term psychological developmental issues. At the same time, the circulation of such content fuels the online predator ecosystem and creates a dangerous digital environment. Society bears the moral, legal, and social burden of failing to protect children from sexual exploitation.
With the emergence of artificial intelligence, a new dimension of this threat has surfaced—AI and CSAM. Unlike conventional CSAM, which involves real victims, AI technology now enables offenders to generate sexually exploitative content involving children without recording real-life events. While it may not involve physical contact, AI-generated content still constitutes exploitation and can trigger predatory fantasies, worsening an already critical issue. These AI-generated materials often appear highly realistic, making it increasingly difficult for authorities to identify and take action against violations.
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Generative AI, particularly those based on text-to-image or text-to-video models—enables anyone to create visual content simply by entering a text description. While originally developed for creative and educational purposes, this technology is now being misused by criminals to digitally produce Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). With the help of AI, online predators can generate highly realistic images and videos depicting children in sexually exploitative scenarios—without directly involving real victims. This is what makes the combination of AI and CSAM so dangerous: the resulting content is often indistinguishable from actual documentation of criminal acts.
Susie Hargreaves OBE, CEO of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), described the situation as “a playground for online predators to act out their most depraved and disgusting fantasies.” Her statement aligns with IWF findings that show a significant surge in AI-generated CSAM images on dark web forums. In October 2023 alone, the IWF identified over 20,000 AI-generated child exploitation images in just one month, with approximately 3,000 of them explicitly depicting scenes of child sexual abuse. By July 2024, that number had risen to over 3,500 images.
These facts highlight not only how rapidly the abuse of AI is escalating, but also the increasing complexity faced by law enforcement in detecting and prosecuting the distribution of such illegal content.
One concrete example of the growing threat posed by AI and CSAM was uncovered in Operation Cumberland, a major investigation led by Europol in collaboration with authorities from 19 countries. This operation successfully dismantled a global criminal network that exploited advanced AI technology to produce and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on a large scale. As a result of coordinated raids, 25 suspects were arrested, and an additional 273 individuals were identified as part of the illegal content distribution ecosystem. The network’s central operations were traced to Denmark, where a local national managed an online platform providing access to thousands of AI-generated CSAM files.
AI and CSAM were central concerns in Operation Cumberland, as this technology allows perpetrators—even those without technical expertise—to create highly realistic images and videos of child exploitation. These materials were widely circulated on the dark web, significantly complicating efforts by law enforcement to trace and shut down distribution channels.
The success of this operation highlights the critical importance of international cooperation in tackling cross-border cybercrime. It also underscores the urgent need for global regulations that can keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology and effectively address the emerging threats it brings.
One of the main challenges in addressing the misuse of AI to create illegal content such as CSAM is the lack of specific legal frameworks that govern this type of crime. Most existing laws still focus on materials involving real victims, making it difficult to prosecute offenders who use AI to generate highly realistic yet entirely digital child exploitation imagery. Yet, even without involving a physical child, such content still fuels deviant behavior and strengthens a dangerous online predator ecosystem.
Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director of Europol, warned that the increasing sophistication of AI amplifies the risks when this technology falls into the hands of individuals with malicious intent, even without technical expertise. She emphasized how easy it has become for someone to generate and distribute prohibited content at scale using AI. In the context of AI and CSAM, this reality has overwhelmed law enforcement agencies, who now face a flood of hyper-realistic visual data that does not involve actual victims—a legal grey area that current regulations are not yet equipped to handle.
To address the growing threat of AI misuse in the creation of child exploitation material, various countries and international organizations have begun to design concrete measures. Regulations—previously lagging behind the rapid pace of technological development have now become a top priority, particularly in Europe. Below are several initiatives currently being discussed and developed at the global level:
The European Union is in the process of drafting specific regulations to address the misuse of AI in the production of CSAM. These rules aim to close legal loopholes and ensure that offenders can still be prosecuted—even if the content was generated without real-life victims. Technology developers are also being urged to embed safety features directly into the design phase of their AI tools.
A risk-based approach allows for a clear distinction between safe and harmful uses of AI. The focus is not on banning the technology, but on ensuring it is used ethically and without causing harm. Developers are increasingly being held accountable for the potential misuse of their tools, and are expected to take proactive measures to prevent abuse.
Since AI and CSAM-related crimes are inherently cross-border, international cooperation is crucial. The European Union is encouraging other countries to join efforts in developing regulations, sharing intelligence, and strengthening joint enforcement to ensure that geographical loopholes are not exploited by offenders.
Given the complexity and global scope of AI misuse in the production of CSAM, it is clear that this threat cannot be addressed in isolation. What’s needed are adaptive regulations, a risk-based approach, and cross-border collaboration to effectively curb its spread. Without collective effort, AI and CSAM will remain a dark shadow looming over our increasingly advanced digital world.
Combating the spread of AI-generated CSAM requires more than just regulations and law enforcement. Both society and technology play a vital role in detecting and preventing the wide circulation of this illegal content. Below are several key actions that can help strengthen child protection in the digital space:
To combat CSAM content generated by artificial intelligence, researchers and developers are now building AI-powered detection systems. These technologies are designed to identify visual patterns and metadata in synthetic content that mimics child exploitation. This “AI versus AI” approach is emerging as one of the most promising solutions, as it can handle large volumes of data and detect suspicious content in real time, far more efficiently than manual review.
Digital service providers—such as social media platforms, cloud storage services, and internet service providers (ISPs)—hold a strategic position in monitoring data traffic that may contain CSAM. Organizations like the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) collaborate with these platforms to proactively detect and remove such content. The integration of automated reporting systems and AI-powered moderation mechanisms is a crucial step in ensuring that harmful content can be intercepted and taken down at the earliest stage.
Beyond technology and institutions, public involvement through enhanced digital literacy is essential. Education on the dangers of CSAM, how to recognize suspicious content, and proper reporting procedures must be expanded—especially targeting parents, teachers, and children themselves. The greater the public's understanding of the risks posed by AI and CSAM, the stronger the collective ability to prevent such content from spreading into public digital spaces.
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The threat posed by the misuse of artificial intelligence to create Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) is not a future issue—it is a crisis that is already unfolding and rapidly escalating. The complexity of the technologies involved and the speed at which this content spreads demand policies that are adaptive and responsive to today’s digital realities. There must be close collaboration between regulators, technology industry players, monitoring organizations, and civil society to build a digital ecosystem that is safe for children. With a comprehensive approach and cross-sector commitment, we can limit offenders’ opportunities and strengthen protection for younger generations. The threat of AI and CSAM must be addressed urgently—before it spreads any further.