7.4 KiB
IGF 2026 WS #208 AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: From Law to Action
Description
Co-organised by the Council of Europe Cybercrime Division, the Council of Europe Children’s Rights Division, INHOPE and Brave movement, this session addresses AI-generated and altered child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse material (CSEAM) as an urgent cybercrime and child-protection challenge.
AI-generated CSEAM is already being created, manipulated and disseminated at speed and scale, including through generative AI systems and “nudifying” tools. It creates new challenges for prevention, investigation and prosecution, while exacerbating harm to victims and survivors through the creation, circulation and manipulation of abusive material.
The session will move beyond general calls for co-operation and focus on practical roles and responsibilities. Governments, law enforcement, hotlines, service providers, civil society and survivor-led organisations all have distinct but connected roles: criminalising AI-generated CSEAM, securing electronic evidence, enabling cross-border referrals, supporting removal, building safeguards into AI systems, preventing re-victimisation and ensuring victim-centred responses.
The discussion will be anchored in the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), its Second Protocol on enhanced cooperation and disclosure of electronic evidence, and the Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Lanzarote Convention). These instruments support criminalisation, procedural powers, international cooperation, prevention, victim protection and child-friendly justice.
The session will take forward the joint statement adopted in June 2026 by the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) and the Lanzarote Committee, which affirms that technology-neutral criminalisation provisions apply to AI-generated/altered CSEAM, including both material using the likeness of a real child and fully synthetic material depicting a non-existent child. The statement also encourages practical measures on victim protection, timely detection, removal, technology-sector safeguards and accountability, effective sanctions, and awareness-raising.
Through this interactive session, participants will identify practical commitments to criminalise AI-generated CSEAM, interrupt harm earlier in its lifecycle, accelerate removal, strengthen investigations, improve provider safeguards and accountability, and support co-ordinated cross-border action.
Policy Question(s)
- What legal and policy steps are needed to ensure effective criminalisation of AI-generated and altered CSEAM, including fully synthetic material and images created by “nudifying” tools?
- How can hotlines, law enforcement and service providers, supported by international co-operation instruments, work together in practice to move from reports to removal, victim identification and lawful cross-border access to electronic evidence?
- How can we mobilise safeguards, prompt-level intervention, reporting pathways, and survivor support to disrupt harm earlier on in the AI-generated CSEAM lifecycle?
Expected Outcomes
Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of AI-generated and altered CSEAM as both a cybercrime and child-protection challenge, and of the practical roles of governments, law enforcement, hotlines, service providers, civil society and survivor-led organisations. The session will offer diverse perspectives and practical examples of tools for action: effective criminalisation, faster removal, cross-border referrals, access to electronic evidence, safeguards and other intervention points, prompt-level deterrence or redirection, and victim-centred responses.
As a specific output, the co-organisers will prepare a short post-session action note summarising key messages, recommendations and follow-up opportunities. The discussion will build continued cooperation among relevant partners on implementing the T-CY/Lanzarote joint statement on AI-generated and altered CSEAM, applying international instruments, using cooperation tools, including the Second Additional Protocol, strengthening provider safeguards and accountability, and preventing re-victimisation through survivor-informed approaches.
Reference Document
Reference Document
Format
Theater Duration (minutes): 90 Format description: The 90-minute duration is best suited to the session because it allows sufficient time to combine expert input, practical examples and audience engagement on a complex issue spanning AI, cybercrime, child protection, victim support, law enforcement, hotlines and service-provider responsibility. The format will allow panellists to set out the legal, operational, survivor-informed and technical dimensions of AI-generated and altered CSEAM, while leaving space for moderated discussion, audience questions and interactive polling to gauge participants’ knowledge, views and priorities.
A theatre-style room layout is appropriate because the session is expected to attract a broad and diverse IGF audience and will benefit from clear visibility of speakers and a structured panel discussion. At the same time, the format will remain interactive through moderated questions, pre-identified floor interventions and polling, enabling participants from different sectors and regions to contribute practical perspectives and possible follow-up actions.
Hybrid Format
Hybrid Format: The session will be designed as a genuinely hybrid and interactive discussion, enabling meaningful participation from both onsite and online speakers and attendees. An onsite moderator will guide the panel and in-room discussion, while a dedicated online moderator will monitor the virtual room, collect questions and ensure online participants are brought in on an equal footing.
The 90-minute format will combine short speaker interventions with moderated discussion, audience questions and interactive elements. Time will be reserved for both onsite and online participation, including pre-identified floor interventions from different stakeholder groups and regions.
The organisers may use live polling or short reaction prompts to gauge views on criminalisation, cross-border co-operation, intervention points, provider safeguards and preventing re-victimisation. The organisers will use the technical tools and virtual link provided by the IGF Secretariat and Host Country, complemented by simple polling tools where appropriate.
Organizers
Organizer 1: Jan Kralik, Council of Europe Organizer 2: SAMANTHA WOOLFE, INHOPE Organizer 3: Aisling Kelly, Council of Europe Organizer 4: Naomi Trewinnard, Council of Europe Organizer 5: Kanga Rasi, Brave Movement Organizer 6: Francis TUIYOTT, Court of Appeal, Nairobi, Kenya
Speakers
Speaker 1: SAMANTHA WOOLFE, Civil Society, Intergovernmental Organization Speaker 2: Francis TUIYOTT, Government, African Group Speaker 3: George Neves Lodder, Government, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Moderator
Aisling Kelly, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Online Moderator
Naomi Trewinnard, Intergovernmental Organization, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Rapporteur
Francis TUIYOTT, Government, African Group
Participant Benefits
What will participants gain from attending this session?
SDGs
- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 16.2