Online child sex abuse rises with COVID-19 lockdowns: Europol

BRUSSELS: Online sex abuse of children in the European Union has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of EU law enforcement agency Europol said on Monday, warning that more cases could emerge when schools reopen as teachers’ monitoring resumes, foreign media reported.

Cybercrime has spiked during the epidemic with many people forced to work and shop online.“What is most worrying is the increased online activity by those seeking child sexual abuse material,” Europol director Catherine De Bolle told a hearing in the EU Parliament.

De Bolle, a former head of the Belgian police, said the rise in paedophile activities was reported by national law enforcement authorities from the 27 EU states who saw higher access to illegal websites and shut more online platforms for the exchange of child sex material.She said that Europol investigators had also intercepted offenders claiming easier access to children in conversations on the dark web, a part of the internet which is accessible only with specific software or authorisation.