Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council assessing the implementation of the measures referred to in Article 25 of Directive 2011/93/EU of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography

The Internet has brought about a dramatic increase in child sexual abuse in that:
- it facilitates the sharing of child sexual abuse material, by offering a variety of distribution channels such as the web, peer-to-peer networks, social media, bulletin boards, newsgroups, Internet relay chats and photo-sharing platforms, among many others. Sharing is also facilitated by access to a worldwide community of like-minded individuals, which is a source of strong demand and mutual support;
- it provides technical means and security measures that can facilitate anonymity;
- as a consequence of the strong demand for child sexual abuse material, children continue to be at risk of becoming victims, while anonymity can obstruct the investigation and prosecution of these crimes; and
- new child sexual abuse materials have become a currency. To obtain and maintain access to forums, participants frequently have to submit new materials on a regular basis, which encourages the commission of child sexual abuse.

The main objective of Article 25 of Directive 2011/93/EU of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography is to disrupt the availability of child pornography. Such provisions were first introduced with the Directive, as they were not included in the main legislative instruments in the area, i.e. the Framework Decision that the Directive replaces; the 2007 Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, from which the Directive draws inspiration in other areas; or the Council Decision to combat child pornography on the Internet, which was one of the first legal instruments at EU level that addressed child pornography.

Article 25 is one of a number of provisions in the Directive to facilitate prevention and mitigate secondary victimisation. Together with provisions on the prosecution of crimes and protection of victims, they are part of the holistic approach required to tackle child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and child pornography effectively.

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