AI-generated child abuse material surges in Europe, data shows

Published:  Fri 29 May 2026

With today's children growing up in a highly digitalised environment, there are increasing concerns about their exposure to harmful online content.

More than 4.5 million reports of potentially illegal online content were received by EU co-funded hotlines in 2025, according to the latest data from the Better Internet for Kids Hotline Observatory.

Over half of these reports were related to child sexual abuse material or child sexual exploitation material.

In addition, 63% of the global child sexual abuse URLs identified by the child protection tech charity Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) last year were traced to hosting services in EU member states.

Read the full article at Euro News.

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