Twenty-eight men aged 22 to 54 were arrested in an international operation conducted from late May to mid-June 2026 across Canada, Czechia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland, targeting individuals storing, acquiring, and sharing child sexual abuse material. One suspect was extensively using artificial intelligence to generate illegal material, and some victims were part of another suspect's immediate family. Investigators believe suspects used cryptocurrency to pay for access to dark web forums where they could download or view videos of children being abused. The operation, led by Norwegian law enforcement using an innovative method to trace cryptocurrency transactions developed in 2025, also seized more than 460 items including electronic devices, crypto wallets, drugs, and doping substances.
This case demonstrates the expanding frontier of AI-generated CSAM, and Guardii's anti-CSAM detection module is purpose-built to address it. Guardii, a world-leading AI online-safety platform and Meta Business Partner backed by Startmate, monitors children's direct messages in real time across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Roblox, and other platforms, with specific detection capabilities for both photographic and AI-generated child sexual abuse material, including deepfakes and synthetic imagery. By identifying solicitation for or transmission of CSAM—whether produced, shared, or AI-fabricated—at the point of contact, Guardii blocks hostile material before it reaches the child, surfaces the threat to parents or safeguarding professionals, and enables rapid escalation to law enforcement with the evidentiary trail intact, closing the enforcement gap between dark-web distribution and real-world victimization.
