At least 25 arrests have been made during a worldwide operation against child abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the European Union's law enforcement organisation Europol has said.

The content investigated in Operation Cumberland was “fully artificial” with “no real victim depicted,” but AI-generated child sexual abuse material “still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children,

Europol said 25 people have been arrested as part of a group that was allegedly distributing artificial intelligence-generated images of child sexual abuse, in one of the first major cases involving this type of tech-enabled crime.