- German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) records around 31,500 reports of child sexual abuse material on the Internet in 2024 – number of reports remains high, take-down rates stable
- eco Complaints Office: Central bridge function confirmed once again – Revised EU CSAM Directive could further strengthen the role of hotlines
Berlin, 18 June 2025 – The German federal government today presented its latest evaluation report on the deletion of child sexual abuse material from the Internet. A total of 31,536 reports of such content were recorded in 2024. Although this figure is below the record level of the previous year, the volume remains very high in historical comparison – higher than in all years prior to 2023. This trend is also reflected in the latest figures from the eco Complaints Office.
“The extent to which the figures for 2024 herald a downward trend will only become clear in retrospect when looking back at 2025. Our own statistics from the eco Complaints Office show that the volume of complaints remained consistently high in the first half of 2025. Should this trend continue or even increase, we could be approaching the figures from the record year of 2023 again by the end of 2025,” explains Alexandra Koch-Skiba, Head of the eco Complaints Office.
Role of hotlines strengthened
A key finding of the take-down report is that the majority of reports to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) continue to come from the network of hotlines. In 2024, 99.2% of all reports of child sexual abuse material URLs were received via German hotlines. This once again confirms the important function of these institutions as low-threshold and trustworthy points of contact for Internet users.
“Our work complements law enforcement, but is far more accessible – including anonymously. This is crucial in order to record as many reports as possible at an early stage and processing them effectively,” says Koch-Skiba.
Take-down times slightly increased – Success rate remains high
Despite a decline in the number of reports, the average take-down time in Germany in 2024 was slightly higher than in the previous year. Nevertheless, around 56% of content hosted in Germany was removed within two days. After one week, the take-down rate was almost 99% – a slight increase compared to the previous year.
For content hosted abroad, the take-down rate after four weeks stood at 84.17% – still a high figure considering the limited access to foreign server structures.
Revision of the CSAM Directive: Bridging the gap between reporting and European regulation
With regard to the revision of the EU Directive on combatting the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, the eco Complaints Office sees positive signals from Brussels: The current draft by the European Parliament for the upcoming trilogue explicitly provides for the involvement of complaint offices. “This strengthening of the role of hotlines at the European level is an important signal. We call on the negotiating partners to consistently and explicitly include existing and proven structures in adjusting the legal framework. The take-down report clearly shows that hotlines are an important point of contact for Internet users and play a significant contribution to the deletion of illegal content. Take-down efforts work – and they work quickly when the right structures are in place,” says Koch-Skiba.
About the eco Complaints Office
For around 30 years, the eco Complaints Office has been the central point of contact for reports of illegal content on the Internet, including depictions of sexual violence against children. As a member of the international INHOPE network, it works closely with partner hotlines worldwide and with law enforcement agencies. In 2024 alone, eco processed tens of thousands of complaints – thereby making a decisive contribution to the rapid removal of illegal content.
More at: https://international.eco.de/topics/policy-law/eco-complaints-office/
