Quote from Alex bobby on June 18, 2025, 4:25 AM

EU Parliament Moves to Criminalise AI-Generated Child Abuse Material in Landmark Vote

In a historic move to strengthen child protection across the European Union, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to criminalise the creation, possession, and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) generated using artificial intelligence. With 599 votes in favour, only two against, and 62 abstentions, the sweeping directive won rare cross-party support, reflecting the gravity of the issue and the urgency of legislative action in the digital age.

The proposed directive, which will now move into trilogue negotiations with the European Commission and the Council of the EU, marks a major step toward closing legal loopholes around digitally manipulated CSAM and establishing a unified framework for child protection across all 27 member states.

A New Front in the Fight Against Child Abuse

“This material will be treated in exactly the same way as if it were real child abuse material,” said Jeroen Lenaers, the Dutch MEP from the European People’s Party leading the initiative. Lenaers stressed that AI-generated CSAM is not a harmless simulation. On the contrary, he noted, such material is often created using real abuse content as training data for AI models, and can serve as a gateway to contact offences.

His concerns are echoed by recent findings from the Helsinki-based non-profit Protect Children, which found that 52% of individuals who consumed such content feared it could lead them to commit abuse. Another 44% said it made them consider seeking contact with a minor, and 37% admitted to having done so.

According to Lenaers, AI-generated child abuse content has surged by over 1,000% in the last year alone—alarming growth that lawmakers say demands swift and unified action.

Broad Industry and Civil Society Support

The Parliament’s strong stance has been praised by both the tech industry and child protection groups. In an unprecedented joint statement, Dot Europe—a lobbying group that includes companies such as OpenAI, TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat—and Eclag, the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group, expressed support for the directive.

“We are happy to be joining forces for the first time to tackle the danger posed by AI for child sexual abuse at EU level,” the statement read. “Hopefully, we can continue to find ways to work together to make online child sexual abuse history.”

Such unified support suggests that the regulation of harmful AI content is becoming a shared priority, even among tech firms traditionally wary of strict legislative controls.

More Than AI: A Holistic Legal Framework

While AI-generated CSAM has captured headlines, the directive goes much further. It introduces a harmonised legal framework across the EU for combating all forms of online child abuse. Among its key provisions:

• Grooming and Sextortion as Defined Crimes: The law will formally recognise these online manipulation tactics as criminal offences across the EU.
• Ban on Live-Streaming Abuse: It will be illegal to livestream any sexual abuse act involving minors.
• Removal of Time Limits for Reporting Abuse: Recognising that many victims come forward years later, the directive lifts existing statutes of limitation.
• Ban on “Paedophile Handbooks”: These insidious guides, which detail how to manipulate and abuse children while avoiding detection, will be outlawed.

The directive also tackles the issue of age of consent, which has long varied across EU countries and complicated cross-border legal cooperation. During negotiations in the Council, a coalition of seven countries—Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Sweden—issued a joint warning that children who are above the age of consent may still be vulnerable and in need of special legal protections.

What Happens Next?

Despite the overwhelming vote in Parliament, the directive has not yet become law. It must now undergo trilogue negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission. These discussions will iron out differences—particularly around controversial points like the criminalisation of AI-generated material and age of consent policies.

The Council had previously adopted a more cautious stance in December, stopping short of explicitly including AI-generated CSAM in its version of the directive. The Parliament’s vote is likely to increase pressure on member states to align their positions with the more ambitious scope approved on Tuesday.

A Turning Point in Child Protection Policy

Tuesday’s vote is being hailed as a turning point in how societies confront the dangers of online child abuse in the AI era. In the words of European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner: “We cannot be ambitious enough. There is no more important priority than protecting our children.”

As the EU navigates the complexities of regulating advanced technologies, this directive offers a blueprint for how legal systems can evolve to meet emerging threats—while placing the safety and dignity of children at the centre.

Conclusion

The European Parliament’s landmark vote to criminalise AI-generated child sexual abuse material marks a decisive and much-needed step toward safeguarding children in an increasingly digital world. By treating AI-generated abuse content with the same severity as real material, and by broadening legal protections to include grooming, sextortion, and live-streamed exploitation, the EU is sending a clear message: child abuse, in any form, will not be tolerated.

As the directive moves into final negotiations, it is essential that national governments match the Parliament’s ambition. With the backing of both civil society and major tech firms, this unified effort represents a rare and powerful alignment of political will, industry responsibility, and moral urgency. If enacted effectively, the directive could set a global standard for how technology can—and must—be regulated to protect the most vulnerable.

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The European Parliament has voted to criminalise AI-generated child sexual abuse material, passing a sweeping directive to combat online abuse, grooming, sextortion, and more. Here's what the new law covers and what comes next.