The Hague, July 22, 2024, The Europe Today: Europol, the European policing agency, issued a stark warning on Monday about a significant rise in the circulation of artificial intelligence-created child sexual abuse images online.
In a newly released report, Europol highlighted the disturbing trend of AI-assisted and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. “Cases of AI-assisted and AI-generated child sexual abuse material have been reported,” the agency stated.
The 37-page report on digital threats facing Europe underscored the growing use of AI by child sex offenders to generate or alter abuse material. “The use of AI which allows child sex offenders to generate or alter child sex abuse material is set to further proliferate in the near future,” the report warned.
Challenges in Victim Identification
The rise in AI-generated images poses new challenges in identifying real-life victims. Europol noted that this trend complicates efforts to locate and assist actual victims of abuse.
A study by the University of Edinburgh in May revealed that approximately 300 million children worldwide are victims of online sexual exploitation annually. The study also indicated that AI technology has introduced a new dimension to online abuse, including deepfakes of real individuals.
Europol emphasized that even when AI-generated content is entirely artificial with no real victim depicted, it still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children. “Even in the cases when the content is fully artificial and there is no real victim depicted, AI-generated child sex abuse material still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children,” the agency said.
As AI technology continues to evolve, Europol’s report calls for increased vigilance and enhanced measures to combat this growing threat to child safety online.
