Europol’s CSAM problem

​EncroChat and Europol logos are seen in this illustration taken, June 27, 2023.
EncroChat and Europol logos are seen in this illustration taken, June 27, 2023.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Europol, Europe’s policing agency, said it’s seen a marked increase in AI-generated child sexual abuse material, aka CSAM. And they predicted it’ll get worse: “The use of AI which allows child sex offenders to generate or alter child sex abuse material is set to further proliferate in the near future," the agency said in a statement. The technology also makes it easier for perpetrators to cyberbully and sexually extort victims for financial gain.

In a new report, Europol warns of the dangers of deepfake child abuse material. But it also says that the advent of AI makes it difficult to detect what’s real and what’s fake. And AI-generated images could be trained on real CSAM. Massive AI training datasets have been found to include numerous instances of CSAM.

More from GZERO Media

President Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House on April 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard

With stock markets plunging and US Treasury yields reaching new heights, Donald Trump finally reneged on parts of his widescale tariff plan on Wednesday, declaring a 90-day pause to the far-reaching “reciprocal” levies that he introduced just one week ago while leaving a 10% across-the-board duty in place. He also escalated the already-burgeoning trade war with China by increasing the tariff on their imports to 125%.

EU and Chinese flags in an illustration.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

European leaders have much to worry about concerning trade and economic growth, and they’re exploring their options with China at a time when Beijing has a strategic interest in helping to divide the US from Europe. Demonstrating to EU leaders that China can become a force for stability in global trade at a time when Donald Trumpis waging a trade war on allies and rivals alike would further that goal.

Democratic Republic of Congo's former President Joseph Kabila, attends a memorial service of Sam Nujoma, who became Namibia's first democratically elected president., February 28, 2025.
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has announced his return to the country, vowing to halt the rapid advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized significant territory in the country’s conflict-ridden east.

From left to right, Prime Minister of Bavaria Markus Soeder, Chairman of the CDU Friedrich Merz, Heads of the SPD Lars Klingbeil, and Saskia Esken arrive at a press conference after successful coalition negotiations in Berlin, Germany, on April 9, 2025.
Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Reuters

Germany’s leading establishment parties reached a grand coalition deal on Wednesday, bringing Europe’s largest economy a step closer to having a formal government amid severe domestic and global challenges.

Jess Frampton

Globalization helped make the United States the most prosperous nation in history. But many Americans feel they haven’t benefited from free trade and voted for Donald Trump to “liberate” them from the system the United States built over the past 80 years. He is delivering.

Listen: For a special edition of the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to get his economic assessment of President Trump's unprecedented imposition of tariffs, which has sparked an escalating trade war.