Mayo MEP hails passing of laws criminalising AI child sexual abuse material

The European Parliament this week voted to pass legislation which will criminalise AI-generated child sexual abuse material, MEP Maria Walsh has said.

MEP Walsh is a member of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, the committee responsible for the Revision of the Combating Child Sexual Abuse Directive.

The legislation will remove a statute of limitation on child abuse crimes across Europe and criminalise AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including the development, possession, and distribution of artificial intelligence systems used to produce such content.

MEP Maria Walsh said, “After years of work, the European Parliament has successfully passed monumental EU legislation which will transform protections for children and victims.

For the first time, child sexual abuse material created by AI will be a crime across Europe.

“Policy has not kept pace with technological progress, with our children targeted by the most disturbing forces in society.

Artificial Intelligence systems are being used to sexually abuse children in a number of ways, including by using images and voices of children to create child sexual abuse material.

“Real children, including survivors of child sexual abuse, have been the victims of our failure to keep up with change.

The European Parliament has today shown this will no longer be the case.

“The new laws will introduce tougher penalties for offenders, and crucially it will remove the statute of limitation on child sexual abuse crimes in all EU countries.

The average age of disclosure of an experience of child sexual abuse is 52 years old. In other words, child sexual abuse is a life sentence.

“Ireland has been a leader in this space, with no statute of limitation on child sexual abuse crimes in our country.

However, we cannot forget our long and shameful history of mistreating young people and vulnerable members of society.

90% of people believe that we have failed to address the issue of child sexual abuse in Ireland.

“This legislation will raise the bar right across the EU.

Time should not wash away accountability.

There should be no “safe zone” that begins when the clock runs out. A life sentence for victims must mean a lifelong possibility of justice.”