Source: Le Monde

In a powerful opinion piece, Le Monde addresses the horrifying issue of artificial intelligence being used to create new, synthetic images of child sexual abuse, and how this phenomenon prolongs and deepens the suffering of actual victims. The editorial argues that the ability of AI to generate realistic and manipulated images means that a survivor's ordeal is never truly over. Their original images of abuse can be endlessly altered, re-contextualized, and redistributed, creating a new and perpetual form of violation that re-traumatizes them repeatedly.

The article emphasizes that the distinction between "real" and "fake" images becomes dangerously blurred, both for the victims and for law enforcement. For a survivor, knowing that their likeness can be used to generate countless new abusive scenes creates a profound and lasting psychological burden. Le Monde calls for urgent and decisive action from lawmakers, technology companies, and international bodies. The editorial asserts that the fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) must now evolve to confront this new technological threat, demanding stronger regulations on AI development, more effective detection tools, and a legal framework that recognizes this new form of abuse and holds its perpetrators accountable.