Surge in AI-generated child sexual abuse images alarms advocacy groups and investigators
This single man, previously unknown to police, generated several thousand such images per month, offering them for sale online. During the investigation, he even boasted of being among the world's top 10 in the field, capable of producing increasingly realistic images of children of all ages.
On the day of the trial, the prosecutor, frustrated by the defense's justification, asked if he believed he had "done a good deed." The man dared to answer yes, according to Danish public broadcaster TV 2. "I think it prevented some internet users from seeking out photos of real children. And it stopped real children from being abused." The well-worn argument did not spare him from prison. He was sentenced to one year and three months in detention. Some of his customers were also implicated as part of a sweeping operation led by Europol, which identified 273 suspects and made 25 arrests in 19 countries, including France.
'The threat is growing'
While arrests remain rare, AI-generated child sexual abuse images are multiplying online. "This is becoming a real problem for us; it is a threat that is growing and accelerating," warned Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol. To create these images, "you don't need a lot of skills, you don't need a child, you don't need to commit actual violence. You just need a computer."
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LeMonde
24-07-2025
- LeMonde
Surge in AI-generated child sexual abuse images alarms advocacy groups and investigators
"If the child is not real, then, for me, it's not illegal." On January 8, 2025, a 29-year-old man appeared before the court in Randers, Denmark, in a landmark case. A few weeks earlier, police had forced open his apartment door and found him at his computer, actively viewing child sexual abuse images that were generated using an artificial intelligence (AI) program. Investigators found 36,209 such files in his possession. This single man, previously unknown to police, generated several thousand such images per month, offering them for sale online. During the investigation, he even boasted of being among the world's top 10 in the field, capable of producing increasingly realistic images of children of all ages. On the day of the trial, the prosecutor, frustrated by the defense's justification, asked if he believed he had "done a good deed." The man dared to answer yes, according to Danish public broadcaster TV 2. "I think it prevented some internet users from seeking out photos of real children. And it stopped real children from being abused." The well-worn argument did not spare him from prison. He was sentenced to one year and three months in detention. Some of his customers were also implicated as part of a sweeping operation led by Europol, which identified 273 suspects and made 25 arrests in 19 countries, including France. 'The threat is growing' While arrests remain rare, AI-generated child sexual abuse images are multiplying online. "This is becoming a real problem for us; it is a threat that is growing and accelerating," warned Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol. To create these images, "you don't need a lot of skills, you don't need a child, you don't need to commit actual violence. You just need a computer."
Local France
23-07-2025
- Local France
Top cybercrime forum manager arrested in Ukraine: French prosecutors
Industry experts describe as one of the longest-running dark web forums. 'On Tuesday, July 22nd, a person suspected of being the administrator of the Russian-language cybercrime forum was arrested as part of a criminal investigation opened by the Paris public prosecutor's office,' Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement. 'Active since 2013, this forum was one of the main hubs for global cybercrime,' Beccuau said, adding that enabled the sale of malware, access to compromised systems, stolen data, and ransomware-related services. 'The forum also operated an encrypted Jabber messaging server, facilitating anonymous exchanges between cybercriminals,' the statement added. An investigation was launched in July 2021 and was handed over to investigating magistrates in November the same year. 'A judicial investigation was opened on November 9th, 2021, on charges of complicity in attacks on an automated data processing system, organised extortion, and criminal conspiracy,' Beccuau said. 'The intercepted messages revealed numerous illicit activities related to cybercrime and ransomware, and established that they generated at least $7million in profits,' Beccuau added. Advertisement The suspected forum administrator was arrested by Ukrainian authorities with the help of the French police in charge of the investigation and Europol. French and European authorities are stepping up cooperation on arrests linked to cybercrime, while reports of cyberattacks targeting public entities and private groups are mounting.
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France says it arrested an individual suspected of running XSS, a major cybercrime forum
The Paris prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday, July 23, that an individual suspected of being the administrator of XSS, a major discussion forum considered one of the world's most significant cybercrime platforms, had been taken into custody. The authorities suspect this person, who was arrested the day before in Kyiv, of being the forum's central administrator, under the pseudonym "toha." "Investigators believe he has been active in the cybercrime ecosystem for nearly two decades," said Europol, which supported the operation, in a statement. Toha has been running the forum since 2018, when he relaunched the discussion space after the previous administrator, known under the pseudonym "Ar3s," was arrested in Belarus. The suspect was arrested in Ukraine the day before, apprehended by local authorities acting "in the presence of French police" and with the support of Europol, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor's office. An initial investigation on the matter was opened in July 2021 and was assigned to the Paris police prefecture's Counter-Cybercrime Brigade (BL2C). Later, "a judicial investigation was opened on November 9, 2021, on charges of complicity in attacks on automated data processing systems, extortion by an organized group and criminal conspiracy," the prosecutor's office said.
