Data for 2024: Sexual offenses against children online

It is an increase that not only makes experts listen: Almost 15,700 cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents on the Internet recorded the Jugendschutz.net platform in 2024 – and thus more than 10,000 cases compared to the previous year. At a press conference in Berlin, the head of the platform, Stefan Glaser, spoke of an “enormous increase”. In 2023, a little more than 5,000 cases were registered here. The number has more than tripled.

Under sexualized violence against children and adolescents on the Internet, abuse images, other non -age -appropriate representations with which minors are confronted, or inappropriate chat messages to minor girls.

“Dark field is increasingly illuminated”

“The dark field is increasingly being illuminated,” said Glaser for analysis of how this increase could be. It was mainly due to more information, for example via the platform’s hotline or through international partners. Glaser said that the increased use of artificial intelligence to produce criminal content can contribute to the very significant increase in cases. It remains to be seen how the numbers developed in the next few years.

Overall, the portal – a joint competence center of the federal and state governments – registered 17,630 cases in which the protection of children and young people was violated on the Internet. According to the information, sexualized violence said 90 percent of all cases – in 2023 it was still 67 percent. Glaser called the Messenger-Service Telegram as a negative example of platforms on which abuse representations are shared. “The operator of Telegram has so far not pushed a stop here.” The service is an “transshipment point” for criminal content.

Online platforms as a “gateway for extremists”

Jugendschutz.net also recorded a significant increase in the number of cases in political extremism. Here there were 400 more than 2023 with 1,245 violations. Of these, 732 reports on right -wing extremism are omitted, 513 on Islamism.

Children and adolescents are at risk, for example on gaming platforms, which Glasers described as “gateway for extremists”. In the online game world, it is easy to reach young people low-threshold. Another phenomenon is online services such as Discord with chat functions in which Islamist influencers, disguised as everyday guides, spread conspiracy myths. Marc Jan Eumann, head of the Commission for Youth Media Protection, emphasized in the context of extremism that the Holocaust had been noticed strikingly frequently in 2024.

Still big gaps in digital age test

In order to better protect young people, the experts promoted a reliable age test when registering in digital services in the previous year. Here the platform still sees large gaps – especially on the side of the operators. Often only the date of birth is queried and insufficiently checked whether an age of reality corresponds.

There are already dozens of offers for the age test on the network, says expert Eumann. Anyone who wants to protect young people on the net could do this for a long time. He says of the operators: “I have no doubt that they can do everything. They just don’t do it if they endanger their business model.” Here politics must clearly take part. The operators would have had enough time to take the task seriously.

Prien promises to act: “We will take it courageously now”

Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) spoke of “alarming” knowledge. Protecting the young generation is a “political task” that the new government will face. “We’ll be courageous now,” she said. The Federal Government will “emphasize” at the EU level to ensure that platform operators also adhere to the rules.

In addition, young people would have to learn to deal with digital media safely. This is also a task of parents and teachers. There is not yet an awareness that children have to be protected online as well as offline, explained Prien. Individual measures, such as a mobile phone ban on primary schools, could also help here, said the former Minister of Education from Schleswig-Holstein. There, Prien had enforced a ban on private cell phone use at primary schools.

Platform criticizes the provider’s extinguishing practice

An important means of fighting criminal content on the Internet is a reliable extinguishing practice. Jugendschutz.net stated that at 9,732 of the 17,630 registered violation cases, providers had been asked to eliminate the content. This was also done in 99 percent of the cases, it said. In more than 6,600 cases, it was about child and youth pornography as well as dangers to life and life. Here Jugendschutz.net directly switched on the investigative authorities.

The platform criticizes that providers such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok deleted content only when violations of youth protection.net itself, i.e. the official side, were reported. If the platform tried this as a normal user, the extinguishing quotas were significantly lower – in the case of YouTube, only six percent of the content objected were removed, compared to 90 percent with official contact.