A criminal group of 273 known suspects creates and disseminates the images online in exchange for payment. 'More arrests are expected in the coming weeks,' Europol says.

The content investigated in Operation Cumberland was “fully artificial” with “no real victim depicted,” but AI-generated child sexual abuse material “still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children,

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Two dozen people were arrested this week for their role in a criminal group that distributed images generated by artificial intelligence of children being sexually abused, Europol said on Friday.

At least 25 arrests have been made during a worldwide operation against child abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the European Union's law enforcement organisation Europol has said.

Europol has conducted a sting operation against a group whose members engage in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence.

Europol said 25 people have been arrested as part of a group that was allegedly distributing artificial intelligence-generated images of child sexual abuse, in one of the first major cases involving this type of tech-enabled crime.

Europol says it assisted authorities from 19 countries in large-scale crackdown on child sexual exploitation, which has resulted in 25 arrests worldwide - Anadolu Ajansı

Law enforcement authorities in 19 countries have conducted a "large-scale hit against child sexual exploitation," supported by Europol, the European police agency announced in The Hague on Friday. "The suspects were part of a criminal group whose members were engaged in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence (AI),