Prevention of online child sexual abuse

New rules to combat online child sexual abuse

Voluntary detection and reporting by digital companies has proved insufficient to address the spread of child sexual abuse (CSA) material online. Service providers face different rules in different countries because there is no harmonisation at EU level. While some providers take an active role, others are less involved, creating gaps that mean abuse can continue undetected.

The European Commission adopted a legislative proposal on 11 May 2022 to prevent and combat online child sexual abuse (CSA). This proposal aimed to make it mandatory for service providers to report CSA on their platforms and alert authorities, with the goal of:

detecting and reporting online CSA
preventing online CSA
supporting victims

On 20 December 2023, EU ambassadors agreed on a negotiating mandate for a regulation extending an interim measure to combat online CSA.

On 15 February 2024, a provisional agreement was reached between the Council presidency and European Parliament to extend this interim measure until 3 April 2026.

The regulation was formally adopted by the Council on 29 April 2024 and is now directly applicable across all EU member states.

In November 2025, EU representatives agreed on the Council position regarding a regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. The new regulation, once adopted, comes with obligations for digital companies to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material and the solicitation of children. The competent national authorities will have the power to oblige companies to remove and block access to content or delist search results. The regulation also establishes a new EU agency, the EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse, to support member states and online providers in implementing the law.

The proposal builds on the digital services act and supplements it with provisions addressing the specific challenges posed by CSA. The rules impose obligations on service providers to minimise the risk of their services being used for online CSA. Detecting and reporting CSA material is key to preventing and stopping abuse online and in real life, and is important in assisting victims as material can be prevented from reappearing.

Assess the risks

Online service providers would have to perform risk assessments, requiring them to check whether online child sexual abuse material is present on their services. For each service they should:

identify, analyse and assess the risk
gather information on the limitation of the risk to specific channels or specific groups of users
check the age of users while preserving privacy and ensuring a safe online environment for children

Coordinating authorities

Member states would designate several competent authorities, appointing one as a coordinating authority to:

review the risk assessments
ensure that fines are imposed in the event of failure to comply with the regulation

Sign of reduced risk

Service providers who satisfactorily meet the conditions may:

display a distinctive sign of reduced risk
include clear explanations of what the sign stands for with the understanding that the risk of online child sexual abuse is not eliminated

Detect, report and remove

The coordinating authority has the power to request a judicial authority or an independent administrative authority to issue detection orders only where there is significant risk of the service being used for the purpose of online CSA. Detection orders being a means of last resort, the competent authorities may issue removal, blocking and delisting order to providers.

Detect child sexual abuse material online:

prepare a plan to detect CSA or the dissemination of CSA material on a specific service
inform users about the technologies it uses to detect CSA

Report child sexual abuse material online:

report any CSA cases to the EU centre, highlighting any imminent threat to the life or safety of a child

Remove child sexual abuse material online:

A trash bin as seen on computer screens, an Illustration.

remove or disable access to specific items of CSA material, in all EU countries
reinstate or provide access when necessary

The rules also provide for judicial redress:

both providers and users having a right to challenge any measure affecting them in court
users would have a right of compensation for any damage that might result from processing under the proposal

Removal and delisting orders would also apply to providers that have their main establishment in a member state other than the one that issued the order. In cases that are reversed because of a redress procedure the provider must reinstate the material or access to it without delay.

Information will only be kept for a limited time necessary for the purpose and duration of complaints or redress procedures. After this period the information should be deleted.

EU centre: hub of expertise in the EU

Similar to the national independent centre in the US, a new EU centre would be set up to support law enforcement in acting on reports and protecting children. As a knowledge hub, the centre would:

collect and share expertise and best practices in prevention and victim support
facilitate the risk assessment process
coordinate detection, reporting, prevention and assistance for victims
cooperate closely with the authorities and relevant partner organisations

The centre would comprise an operational support team, a technology committee and a victims board.

The operational team:

coordinates with national authorities and partners worldwide
receives reports of potential online child abuse
maintains a database of indicators
exchanges best practice

The technology committee:

nominated by member states
made up of specialists in assessing technologies used to prevent and combat online CSA
makes technologies available to enforce detection orders

The victims board:

made up of adult victims of CSA
made up of recognised experts in providing assistance and support to victims

Prevalence of child sexual abuse

Globally one in eight children are estimated to be victims of some form of sexual violence online or in real life, compared with one in five children in Europe. Abuse mostly occurs in the child’s circle of trust, making it difficult for children to report and overcome. Between 70% and 85% of child victims - one to 18 years old - know their abusers.

One third of abused children never tell anyone, so such acts remain largely under-reported. It is therefore difficult to measure the true scale and the number of known cases represents only the tip of the iceberg.

Source: Human rights channel (Council of Europe)

1 in 5 children are victims of some form of sexual violence

A domino piece with one dot on one side and four dots on the other, illustration.

Between 70% and 85% know their abusers

Children holding hands, seven are coloured dark blue and the other three are coloured in white, illustration.

1 in 3 never tell anyone about the abuse

A child with her hands on her face counting to three, an illustration.

An EU report reveals that 684 instances of child sexual exploitation were identified in 2022. The 60 investigations carried out led to 30 arrests, with 40 victims identified and protected.

Source: EU factsheet EMPACT 2022

In the US, there were 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2022, 99.5% of which were made by electronic service providers. It is mandatory for internet companies based in the US to report any instances of child sexual abuse that they find in their networks to a national independent centre. In the EU this is currently voluntary.

Child protection

Rights of the child

On 9 June 2022, the Council adopted conclusions on the EU strategy on the rights of the child. More generally, member states are called on to:

develop policies to enforce the rights of all children without discrimination
increase efforts to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children
strengthen their justice systems so that they respect the rights of all children
increase opportunities for children to be responsible and resilient members of the digital society

A network of national contact points would make it possible to provide a more effective response to abduction alerts.

Conclusions on the EU strategy on the rights of the child (9 June 2022)

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU guarantees the protection of the rights of the child by the EU institutions and by EU countries when they implement EU law.

Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their well-being. They may express their views freely. Such views shall be taken into consideration on matters which concern them in accordance with their age and maturity. Article 24, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

In all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child's best interests must be a primary consideration. Article 24, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

International agreements on child protection

The Council of Europe convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse details the measures that must be taken. It protects children in 48 European states. The convention covers sexual abuse within a child's family and in the circle of trust as well as acts carried out for commercial or profit-making purposes.

Council of Europe convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse

The 1989 UN convention on the rights of the child establishes children's right to be protected from all forms of violence. The convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.

The UN convention on the rights of the child