SafeLine has recently published a research paper. highlighting new and alarming trends in child sexual abuse through imagery. This publication is part of the hotline’s ongoing research efforts in cybercrime and its commitment to protecting children’s rights to safe and secure online experiences.


The research focuses primarily on the phenomenon of AI-generated CSAM, sophisticated ways employed for its production which are discussed in dark web forums and the crucial role that the open-source AI models play in the evolution of this overwhelming phenomenon. This work’s main contribution is a correlation analysis between the hotline’s reports and domain names identified in dark web forums, where users’ discussions focus on exchanging information related to the generation of AI-CSAM. The objective was to reveal the close connection of clear and dark web content, which was accomplished through the use of the ATLAS dataset of the Voyager system.

Furthermore, through the analysis of a set of posts’ content drilled from the above dataset, conclusions on forum members’ techniques employed for the production of AI-generated CSAM are drawn, while routes followed by users in order to overcome technological barriers set with the aim of preventing malicious purposes are also presented.

As the ultimate contribution of this research, an overview of the current legislative developments in all country members of INHOPE and the issues arising in the process of regulating the AI-CSAM is presented, shedding light in the legal challenges regarding the regulation of the phenomenon.


Access the research paper.