BRUSSELS, Belgium: Designers of AI systems that create child sexual abuse images could face jail time under a toughening of EU rules that European countries and lawmakers agreed on Monday.
Victims will also get more time to bring perpetrators to justice as part of a reform first presented in 2024 that is now edging closer to implementation. Magnus Brunner, the EU´s commissioner for internal affairs, described the deal on the text reached by representatives for the European Parliament and the bloc´s 27 member states as “an important milestone in strengthening the EU´s efforts to combat child sexual abuse”.
“Children deserve protection that keeps pace with the world they live in,” he said. Brussels has sought to expand the type of criminal offences related to child sexual abuse, with new technologies blamed for a proliferation of new forms of abuse.
Under the reform, designing or adapting artificial intelligence systems to produce child sexual abuse material, as well as acquiring, possessing or disseminating such programmes will be punishable by up to two years´ imprisonment.
Possessing or exchanging so-called paedophile “handbooks” -- in which abusers provide guidance to one another -- will also become a crime, possibly leading to at least two years behind bars.
Grooming minors to produce or share abuse material, and paying to watch abuse live-streamed online will likewise become punishable offences. At the same time, the statutes of limitations will be extended, as critics say short terms deprive victims of justice because many only speak up years later after the offence occurred and might find it impossible to mount a case. Under the new rules, the statutes would not start until the victim turns 18, and there would be varying limits of 15, 20 and 32 years depending on the gravity of the crimes.
