EU countries and the European Parliament have agreed in principle to update the bloc’s criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, including new offences linked to livestreaming and artificial intelligence.
The deal was reached by representatives of the Council Presidency and the European Parliament, and would expand the list of crimes, raise penalties for some offences and extend the time limits for investigating and prosecuting cases, the Council of the EU announced on Monday.
The agreement is provisional and still needs formal approval by both institutions before it can become EU law.
Cyprus Justice Minister Costas Fytiris said the revised rules would strengthen protection for children and cover cases where offenders use “emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.”
New offences, consent rules and longer time limits
Under the draft update, paying to access the livestreaming of child sexual abuse would become a punishable offence, the Council said.
Designing or adapting AI systems to produce child sexual abuse material, and distributing such systems, would also be criminalised, it added, citing the emergence of deepfake or AI-generated abuse material.
The agreement would make “grooming” — soliciting a child under the age of sexual consent to produce or share child sexual abuse material — a criminal offence.
Soliciting a child above that age would also be criminalised in cases involving coercion or threats, or if the offender falsely presents himself as a peer.
EU countries would be required to punish sexual extortion of children, defined as threats to disclose child sexual abuse material in order to obtain money or more abuse material.
Owning and distributing instructions on how to commit child sexual abuse or produce child sexual abuse material, including through an online guide or a prompt, would also be punishable.
The revised rules would set out clearer provisions on consent for sexual activity involving children who have reached the age of sexual consent, stating it should be punishable where the child does not consent, according to the Council.
It said the text specifies that silence or non-resistance alone does not amount to consent, and that consent can be withdrawn at any time.
The updated framework would lengthen the period during which certain offences can be investigated and prosecuted after the victim has reached adulthood, with time limits of up to 32 years for the rape of children below and above the age of sexual consent, and for forcing a child into prostitution.
Support measures for victims would include helplines providing information about available support, timely access to free healthcare, legal aid, and interim accommodation.
The agreement would also require member states to ensure victims have the right to claim compensation from the offender.
If the text is formally adopted, national governments would have three years to update their criminal law codes to align with the revised directive.
