Dark web browsing. Credit: Shutterstock, MAYA LAB
Law enforcement has shut down one of the world’s largest child sexual exploitation platforms, known as Kidflix. Led by German and Dutch authorities, the crackdown spanned 36 countries and resulted in 79 arrests and nearly 1,400 suspects identified, according to supporting organisation, Europol.
1.8 million users of ‘Kidflix’: The disturbing catalogue of child abuse
According to Europol, Kidflix operated as a major dark web platform ‘offering offenders a borderless platform to contact and groom victims, as well as to create, store, and exchange child sexual abuse material.’ Created in 2021, the site reportedly attracted over 1.8 million users globally by March 2025.
On March 11, German and Dutch police seized the central server, which at the time held 72,000 videos, as noted by Reuters). In total, 91,000 unique videos were uploaded and shared on the platform — many of them previously unseen by investigators, according to reports.
‘Unlike other known platforms of this kind, Kidflix not only enabled users to download child sexual abuse material but also to stream video files,’ Europol confirmed. Users accessed material via cryptocurrency-based tokens, earned by ‘uploading CSAM, verifying video titles and descriptions and assigning categories.’
‘Operation Stream’: The largest operation in Europol’s history
Described by Europol as ‘the largest operation ever handled by its experts in fighting child sexual exploitation,’ Operation Stream ran from 2022 until March 2025.
One chilling case reported by Metro involved a 36-year-old man who had ‘offered his young son for games’, cited by Metro. German authorities intervened 96 times to safeguard children and successfully stopped abuse in 12 ongoing cases.
Real victims of Kidflix
Catherine De Bolle, Europol’s Executive Director, stressed the real-world damage of online exploitation:
“Some attempt to frame this as merely a technical or cyber issue – but it is not. There are real victims behind these crimes, and those victims are children.”
Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs, added:
“The dismantling of this criminal network demonstrates the added value that EU agencies like Europol provide.”
As Metro noted, suspects ranged in age from late teens to people in their seventies, with the average age around 31. Many had long histories on the dark web. Most were also repeat offenders.
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