EU hotlines received 4.5 million reports of illegal online content in 2025, majority linked to child sexual abuse
By
Inês Trindade Pereira
1d ago· 3 min readenNews
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Summary
EU co-funded hotlines received over 4.5 million reports of potentially illegal online content in 2025, with more than half related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or child sexual exploitation material. The data from the Better Internet for Kids Hotline Observatory also shows that 63% of global child sexual abuse URLs identified by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) were linked to AI-generated content. The surge in AI-generated abuse material is emerging as a significant concern across Europe, with certain countries becoming hotspots for such content.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledMore than 4.5 million reports of potentially illegal online content were received by EU co-funded hotlines in 2025
Over half of these reports were related to child sexual abuse material or child sexual exploitation material
63% of the global child sexual abuse URLs identified by the child protection tech charity Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) last
Online child exploitation is increasing across Europe, alongside AI-generated abuse content. Which countries are emerging as hotspots for abuse material?
