Dismantling of Network with Depictions of Abuse of Minors

According to the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office in Munich and the General Prosecutor's Office in Bamberg, 1.8 million users worldwide were registered on the platform "Kidflix," as reported on Wednesday. Raids were conducted in 31 countries, identifying almost 1,400 suspects.

Platform with Depictions of Child Abuse: House Searches Also in Austria

The network called "Kidflix" is one of the largest pedophile platforms in the world, according to the BK. The so-called Operation Stream against this network started in 2021. The Bavarian Criminal Police - the State Criminal Police Office - and the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime in Bavaria led the investigations, which were supported and internationally coordinated by Europol in The Hague. A total of 35 countries participated in the operation worldwide, including Austria, where according to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK), eleven house searches were conducted with the arrest of a suspect, not least because of his criminal history.

On March 11, German and Dutch investigators struck and seized the server, which at that time had around 72,000 videos available. From April 2022 to March 2025, around 1.8 million users worldwide logged into the platform. Some of the suspects not only uploaded videos but also abused children themselves. The investigations are not yet complete. The searches and arrests were carried out in two action weeks from March 10 to March 23. In addition, more than 3,000 electronic devices were seized and 39 children were protected.

Cybercriminal as Founder of Network with Depictions of Child Abuse

According to the BK, a cybercriminal founded "Kidflix" in 2021 and made enormous profits from it. The platform quickly became one of the most popular among pedophiles. According to authorities, during the active period of the platform, 91,000 videos were uploaded and shared, with a total runtime of 6,288 hours. On average, about 3.5 new videos were uploaded to the platform per hour. Many of these were unknown to law enforcement before the investigations began, the Federal Criminal Police Office reported.

Unlike other known platforms of this kind, "Kidflix" allowed its users to download child sexual abuse material (CSAM; material depicting child abuse, note), as well as stream these video files. They paid using cryptocurrencies, which were then converted into tokens. By uploading CSAM, reviewing video titles and descriptions, and categorizing videos, criminals could earn tokens to view the content. Each video was uploaded in multiple versions. This way, users could preview and unlock everything beyond that for a fee - in low, medium, or high quality.

Network with Depictions of Child Abuse: Actions in Austria in Six Federal States

In Austria, there were eleven house searches and the arrest of a suspect who was detained due to his relevant criminal record, according to the BK. No victims were identified in this country. The "Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse Online" department of the Federal Criminal Police Office took over the organization and preparation of the evidence. The further police measures were taken over by the state criminal police offices of Lower Austria, Styria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna.

For Europol, Operation Stream was the largest operation in which employees of the European police organization participated. At the same time, the operation was one of the largest cases that the law enforcement agency has supported in recent years. During the investigations, Europol experts from the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) analyzed thousands of video files. They also conducted a comprehensive comparison of all available data and transmitted the evidence to the affected countries.

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is named as one of the greatest threats to the security of the EU in the recently published Serious Organized Crime Threat Assessment Report (SCOTA). The digital transformation has triggered a rapid development of online CSE and offers criminals a limitless platform to contact, manipulate victims, and produce, store, and exchange CSAM.

Most of the identified suspects identified during Operation Stream matched Europol's databases. Most criminals involved in child sexual exploitation commit these crimes repeatedly and are not unknown to law enforcement agencies, according to the European police organization. At the request of EU member states and other partners, Europol organizes a victim identification task force twice a year. This initiative brings law enforcement agencies together to localize investigations and identify victims. As a result, children in Germany and Australia were protected.

EU Commissioner Brunner: Dismantling of Network with Abuse Depictions of Minors Shows Added Value Through EU Agencies

In addition to Austria, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Colombia, Canada, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the USA participated in Operation Stream.

"The dismantling of this criminal network shows the added value that EU agencies like Europol bring. This is precisely why the European Commission has presented a strategy for more security in Europe. Criminals operate across borders, so we must also support investigators," explained Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, in a statement to APA. The "ProtectEU" strategy presented by the EU Commission on Tuesday includes, among other things, closer cooperation between EU states and EU agencies such as Europol, Frontex, or Eurojust.

(APA/Red)

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