Joint Reaction from ECLAG and DOT Europe to vote to European Parliament position on Directive to combat child sexual abuse

Today marks a historic moment in the fight against child sexual abuse. The European
Parliament has stepped up to tackle the horrific increase of online child sexual abuse by
adopting its position on the Recast Directive on combating child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The European Parliament has firmly stated that EU law must treat all child sexual abuse equally,
regardless of whether it occurs online or offline. The position aims to equip Member States with
the right tools to fight all new forms of child sexual abuse and allow children victims and
suvivors access to justice, notably by abolishing all forms of statutes of limitations for child
sexual abuse.

EU Member States must align on the European Parliament’s position and criminalise all new
forms of child sexual abuse. In a joint position paper, ECLAG and DOT Europe are jointly calling
on the Council to ensure the production, possession or consumption of AI-generated child
sexual abuse material (CSAM) is criminalised in the Recast Directive, even if intended for
personal use.

The rise of new technology has brought the emergence of new forms of child sexual abuse, like
online grooming, sexual extortion and AI-generated CSAM. The latest NCMEC report shows a
rise of +192% of grooming and sexual extortion reports and +1,325% of reports of AI-generated
CSAM in 2024 compared to 2023. Urgent action is needed. By criminalising grooming, sexual extortion and AI-generated CSAM, the European Parliament is rising to the challenge.

Nathalie Meurens, Terre des Hommes Netherlands: “All child sexual abuse material, produced
by AI or not, is child sexual abuse and should be criminalised. Even if not depicting a “real”
child, AI is trained on real CSAM. Worringly, AI-generated CSAM stimulates sexual interest in
children and leads to in-person child sexual abuse.”

Constantin Gissler, DOT Europe’s Director General says: “As the voice of Europe’s leading
internet companies, we are firmly committed to making the digital space safer for all – especially
for children. Together with ECLAG, we urge the Council to ensure that the Recast Directive
explicitly criminalises the production, possession, or consumption of all forms of child sexual
abuse material, including content generated using AI.”

End notes
The European Child sexual abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) is a coalition of over
70 child rights NGOs joining forces to fight to protect children from sexual violence and abuse.
ECLAG Steering Group is formed of ECPAT International, Eurochild, Missing Children Europe,
Internet Watch Foundation, Terre des Hommes and Thorn. DOT Europe is an organisation that brings together the main Internet companies operating in Europe. The organisation was founded in 2000 and currently has 22 members.

Contacts
Martina Fontana, ECLAG comms representative – martinaf@ecpat.org
Mira Kaloshi, DOT Europe policy comms manager – mira@doteurope.e