Artificial intelligence-generated images and other forms of deepfakes depicting child sexual abuse (CSA) could be criminalized in the EU, the European Commission announced today, under plans to update existing legislation to keep pace with technological developments. The EU has also proposed making live streaming of child sexual abuse a new criminal offence. Possession and exchange of "paedophile manuals" will also be criminalized under the plan - which the EU says is part of a wider package of measures aimed at strengthening the prevention of child sexual abuse, including raising awareness of online risks and making it easier for victims to report crimes and access support (including giving them the right to financial compensation).
Current EU rules in this area date back to 2011, and proposals to update them also include changes to mandatory reporting of violations.
Back in May 2022, the Commission tabled a separate draft of CSA-related legislation aimed at establishing a framework under which digital services must use automated technology to detect and report existing or new child sexual abuse material (CSAM) circulating on their platforms, and to identify and report child grooming.
The CSAM scanning scheme has proven extremely controversial - it continues to divide lawmakers in Parliament and the EU Council, while also raising suspicions about the relationship between the European Commission and child safety technology lobbyists and raising other embarrassing questions for the EU executive, such as the legally questionable micro-targeted advertising campaign used to promote the proposal.
The European Commission's decision to prioritize digital information platforms to address CSA has prompted criticism that EU lawmakers are focusing on the wrong areas when addressing this complex social issue - which may have created some pressure for the Commission to make follow-up recommendations. (Of course, the European Commission didn't say that, calling today's package a "complement" to its earlier CSAM scanning proposal).
Still, even in the less than two years since the controversial private information scanning program was proposed, concerns about the risks of deepfakes and AI-generated images have grown significantly, including concerns that the technology could be misused to produce CSAMs and concerns that such synthetic content would make it more challenging for law enforcement to identify real victims. So the viral boom in AI-generated technology is clearly prompting lawmakers to revisit the rules.
"The increase in the number of children online and the development of technology have created new possibilities for abuse," the committee said in a press release today. The committee also said the proposal aimed to "reduce the impunity that pervades the sexual abuse and exploitation of children online."
The committee carried out an impact assessment before submitting the proposal and concluded that the increase in the number of children online and "the latest technological developments" had created new opportunities for CSA to occur. The Commission also said it was concerned that differences in member states' legal frameworks could hinder action to combat abuse and wanted to improve current "limited" efforts to prevent CSA and assist victims.
In a supporting statement, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson added: "Rapidly evolving technologies are creating new possibilities for online child sexual abuse and creating challenges for law enforcement investigating this extremely serious and widespread crime. Strong Criminal law is essential and today we take a crucial step to ensure we have effective legal tools to save children and bring perpetrators to justice. We are delivering on the commitments we made in the EU Strategy to Combat Child Sexual Abuse more effectively, presented in July 2020."
Regarding online safety risks for children, the Commission's proposal aims to encourage member states to invest more in "awareness-raising".
As with the CSAM scan programme, co-legislators in the EU Parliament and Council will decide on the proposal's final shape. There is limited time for negotiations ahead of parliamentary elections and the restart of the commissioners committee later this year, although today's CSA crackdown proposals are likely to be less divisive than the information scanning plan. So there's a chance this plan will pass while another plan stalls.
According to the European Commission, if/once there is agreement on how to amend the current directive to combat CSA, the directive will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.