MEPs must support child sexual abuse legislation as criminals target Europe

Published:  Wed 13 Sep 2023

As new data shows EU servers are being targeted by criminals to host this imagery, EU legislators must pass vital new legislation to get a grip on the worsening situation and prevent the abuse of EU servers by criminals profiting off child sexual abuse imagery, writes Susie Hargreaves.

Susie Hargreaves OBE is the Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), Europe’s biggest hotline dedicated to the detection and prevention of child sexual abuse imagery on the internet.

As legislators prepare the ground for vital new laws to stem the spread of child sexual abuse imagery online, they need to face the fact the situation in the EU is getting worse, not better. Supporting the upcoming legislation is vital.

When we think of criminal gangs smuggling illegal material across country borders, we think of drugs, of illegal weapons being ferried back and forth. We think of blacked out cars and gangsters, we think of ruined lives and corruption.

But the trade in toxic child sexual abuse imagery is going on right on our doorstep.

Read the full article at Euractiv.

AI tools have put child sexual abuse ‘on steroids’, Home Secretary warns

AI tools have put child sexual abuse ‘on steroids’, Home Secretary warns

The Home Office said fake images are being used to blackmail children and force them to livestream further abuse.

2 February 2025 IWF In The News
UK makes use of AI tools to create child abuse material a crime

UK makes use of AI tools to create child abuse material a crime

Britain will make it illegal to use artificial intelligence tools that create child sexual abuse images.

1 February 2025 IWF In The News
Charity finds more than 500,000 child abuse victims

Charity finds more than 500,000 child abuse victims

An analyst who removes child sexual abuse content from the internet says she is always trying to stay "one step ahead" of the "bad guys".

8 December 2024 IWF In The News