Europol: In the production of child pornography, the use of AI is increasing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used for the production of child pornography and makes the identification of victims and perpetrators more complicated. Europol has pointed this out. Criminals are increasingly using AI-tools and services to generate explicit images of child sexual abuse, as Europol stated in a 37-page report on current threats on the internet.
This development increases "the amount of illegal material in circulation and complicates the identification of victims as well as perpetrators," Europol emphasized. AI-processed or generated child pornographic material now makes up "a significant and growing part of child pornographic material on the internet."
Europol views AI-generated child pornography critically, even when it is completely artificially generated and no real victim is depicted. Such depictions of sexualized violence against minors also contribute to "making children into objects and sexualizing them," Europol warned.
According to a study published by the University of Edinburgh in May, more than 300 million children worldwide are victims of sexual exploitation on the internet each year. This includes so-called sextortion, the extortion of minors with intimate photos of them, or also with AI-manipulated sex photos and videos of children.
The increased use of AI raises global concerns about abusive use of technology. So-called Deepfakes can be produced using AI - computer-generated but authentic-looking images and videos based on a real template.
- In response to this rising issue, Deployment of advanced cybersecurity measures by law enforcement agencies, such as the European Police Office, is crucial to combat AI-generated kinder pornos.
- The manufacturing of child sexual abuse images using AI tools and services has become a major concern for the current European Police Office's threat analysis.
- At the same time, AI is also used in the production of deepfakes, which pose a significant threat as they can present AI-manipulated ki as real victims of child sexual abuse.
- Current efforts by Europol to address this threat involve collaborating with tech companies to develop algorithms capable of detecting and filtering out kinder pornos generated by AI.
