The Commission welcomes the political agreement on criminal law provisions to combat child sexual abuse

On 22 June, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the Directive updating criminal law provisions on the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. This marks a significant milestone in child protection, particularly in light of worrying trends such as the proliferation of child sexual abuse material generated by artificial intelligence, which makes the agreement all the more timely. 

The Directive tackles new challenges, improves investigation and prosecution, strengthens prevention and support for victims, and promotes better coordination in the fight against child sexual abuse. The key points of the new common rules are: 

• First EU-wide definition of consent: The text introduces a definition of non-consensual sexual acts, ensuring full protection for minors who have reached the age of sexual consent. Consent must be freely given, voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time, either before or during the act. Silence or passivity on the part of the victim can never be considered consent. 
• New offences related to technological advances:  The new rules criminalise emerging forms of child sexual abuse facilitated by technology, such as the production and dissemination of AI-generated material and deepfakes, the live streaming of child sexual abuse, sexual extortion, instruction manuals for offenders, and AI systems specifically designed or adapted to produce child sexual abuse material. Protection against grooming for child sexual abuse material is extended to minors who have reached the age of majority, in cases of coercion or threats, or wherethe perpetrator poses as a peer. 

• Extended limitation periods: The new rules give victims more time to report child sexual abuse and exploitation to the authorities and seek justice, recognising that many victims only come forward years later. For the most serious offences, such as rape, the limitation period will be extended until the victim reaches the age of 50. For other serious offences covered by the Directive, it will be extended until the victim is between 33 and 38 years old. 

• Strengthened prevention measures: The text introduces mandatory criminal record checks for professional and organised voluntary activities involving direct and regular contact with children. It also requires professionals to report cases where a child is in serious and imminent danger and strengthens child protection measures in schools, sports clubs, and religious, healthcare and social care centres. 

• Greater support for victims: The new rules ensure that child victims have access to specific, age-appropriate support, including medical care, helplines and referral centres. They also reinforce victims’ right to claim full compensation for the harm suffered. 

The digital threat of child sexual abuse has evolved significantly in recent years. Current EU legislation in this area was adopted in 2011 and needed to be adapted to address the profound transformation the digital world has undergone since then. Reports of online child sexual abuse have risen from one million in 2010 to over 23 million in 2025. These reports contained 61.8 million files, including 29.4 million images and 26.3 million videos.  The data also shows an exponential rise in the grooming of children online (child sexual grooming), with the number of reports increasing more than 30-fold over the last five years.  

This Directive represents a significant achievement. However, it will only be effective if we manage to identify the offenders. Currently, up to 80 per cent of criminal investigations into child sexual abuse are initiated following reports of images and videos of such abuse from online service providers. It is therefore essential that the co-legislators urgently reach an agreement on rules governing such reports that will effectively prevent and combat online child sexual abuse. 

Next steps 

This new Directive must be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. Once adopted, it will amend the existing legislation (Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA) and will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.  

More information: European Commission.