The most extreme child sexual abuse imagery hosted in the EU is “spiralling out of control” as lawmakers are urged to clamp down on criminals using the continent as a toxic warehouse for dangerous material.
IWF used to receive some funding from the European Union’s EU Safer Internet Programme. This is now provided by Nominet.
EU countries urged to have ‘courage’ and push for better laws to protect children at IWF’s annual report launch in Brussels
The Internet Watch Foundation is joining ECLAG coalition partners in a statement urging EU policymakers ‘to not fail children, victims and survivors and adopt ambitious measures to effectively protect children from sexual abuse and grooming.’
The European Parliament is taking a decisive stand against the rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (AI-CSAM), co-hosting a high-level briefing with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to address this urgent threat. With a 380% increase in AI-CSAM reports in 2024, the Parliament is pushing for robust legal reforms through the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Directive. Key priorities include criminalising all forms of AI-generated CSAM, removing legal loopholes such as the “personal use” exemption, and enhancing cross-border enforcement. The IWF and the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) urge the Council of the EU to align with Parliament’s strong stance to protect children and support survivors. This article highlights the scale of the threat, the evolving technology behind synthetic abuse imagery, and the critical need for updated EU legislation.
New IWF data shows that three in every five child sexual abuse reports are hosted in an EU member state.
Europe remains the world’s largest hoster of child sexual abuse imagery with 62% of known images and videos being traced to a European Union country* in 2021.
IWF is a steering group member of the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) working to end child sexual abuse both on and offline.