Gardai concerned by 'dramatic increase' in self-generated child porn

Extra.ie​

01-05-2025

Gardaí have seen a 'dramatic increase' in the amount of self-generated pornographic material in child sexual abuse investigations, Oireachtas members heard yesterday.
Detective Sergeant Eoin O'Connell from the National Cyber Crime Bureau said increasing numbers of school children are taking pornographic imagery of themselves or creating 'deepfake' pornographic material of their peers using AI.
He said that access to smartphones and social media means that these images and videos are becoming 'common knowledge in the world and shared'. Gardaí have seen a 'dramatic increase' in the amount of self-generated pornographic material in child sexual abuse investigations. Pic: Getty Images
The comments came during a Leinster House presentation by ThinkSmart, an organisation highlighting the impact of internet use on the well-being and mental health of children.
Child safety online has received global attention following Netflix's hit series Adolescence, with 66 million viewers in the fortnight after its release.
According to Detective O'Connell, who leads the unit in Co Wexford, 'a number' of factors are fuelling the 'dramatic increase in the amount of self-generated content' among Irish teenagers. The comments came during a Leinster House presentation by ThinkSmart, an organisation highlighting the impact of internet use on the well-being and mental health of children. Pic: Shutterstock
These included changes in legislation and teenagers not realising it is a crime to possess or share intimate images of others.
'But we've also seen offenders become far more sophisticated in the online grooming of children. Grooming has now gone into the digital space as we as a society have been pushed online or increased our online presence,' Detective O'Connell said, with many groomers sharing child pornographic material sent to them 'on the dark web'.
He also said intimate images are increasingly being used as a form of cyberbullying.
'Using generative AI, young people are able to amend and alter photos, whether that be embarrassing or intimate images, and use them to bully, harass and put down other people in the school,' he said. According to Detective O'Connell, who leads the unit in Co Wexford, 'a number' of factors are fuelling the 'dramatic increase in the amount of self-generated content' among Irish teenagers. Pic: Getty Images
He added that there was still material gained through activities such as grooming or catfishing, 'but as I said, most of it is self-generated content that the children themselves are creating and sharing.'
ThinkSmart chief executive Aoife Noone said parents are navigating a 'digital warzone'. She said: 'We must act faster. The train has left the station. We need to slow it down.'
Since founding Think Smart in Galway in 2022, Ms Noone has been working in communities across the county to educate students and parents about the threats the online world poses.
She said that Irish parents are 'crying out' for educational support in online safety. While she welcomed Government initiatives to date, she called for greater support for parents.
Child and adolescent therapist Elaine Quinn told the Oireachtas that social media has seen mental health and behavioural problems 'expedited at a level that we cannot even comprehend'.
'This is the crisis we do need to get to the bottom of. There is a ready-made product with a wraparound service [in Think Smart]. We are prepared to go out and deliver it,' she said.