Enhancing Prevention and Disruption of Child Sexual Abuse Material Ecosystems through Integrated Strategies: Lessons from JRC, Europol, and Cyber Offender Prevention

Description

The proliferation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) online poses a significant threat to the safety and well- being of children worldwide. To combat this issue, it is essential to develop integrated strategies that combine prevention and disruption efforts.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) has observed a growing number of CSAM prevention programmes through its mapping and knowledge research efforts.
From the perspective of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), the prevention of CSAM requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach that involves different stakeholders. EC3 has highlighted the concept of Cyber Offender Prevention (COP), which combines enforcement and prevention efforts to target all levels of
criminals in the ecosystem and raise the possibility of applying this strategy to CSAM operations.
Notably, we emphasize that law enforcement interventions typically occur after a crime has been committed, whereas online prevention strategies can be employed proactively, even during ongoing operations, to prevent further harm and disrupt CSAM ecosystems.
We raise the possibility of applying this strategy to CSAM operations, where it could be used to disrupt CSAM ecosystems and prevent reoffending. By combining enforcement and prevention efforts, Operation Amplification can help to identify and target high-risk individuals, provide support services to those who want to change their behavior, and ultimately reduce the demand for CSAM.
From a legal viewpoint, there have been developments at EU level to support a more proactive approach to disrupting harmful known, but also unknown CSAM, on online platform providers and providers of interpersonal communication services. The temporary regulation 1232/2021 and the Proposal for a CSAM Regulation, which is
a lex specialist to the Digital Services Act, are such initiatives, placing obligations on an ecosystem that has the power to prevent and intervene, and in this way contribute to reducing the prevalence of CSAM.
Furthermore, we discuss the importance of providing support services to offenders who want to change their behavior, recognizing that punishment alone is not enough to prevent reoffending.
By incorporating support materials and resources into our interventions, such as those provided by the JRC, we can offer a more comprehensive and effective approach to preventing and mitigating CSAM.
This work has implications for policymakers, law enforcement, and support services seeking to prevent and disrupt CSAM ecosystems, contributing to the development of more effective strategies to protect children online.

Period	5 Dec 2025
Event title	3rd annual Child Sexual Abuse Reduction Research Network (CSARRN) workshop
Event type	Workshop
Location	Valencia, SpainShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International