The global operation, under the name “Operation Cumberland”, is one of the first related to sexual abuse against children with AI-generated material, Europol writes.
It is described as “an exceptional challenge for investigators as there is no national legislation that addresses these crimes”.
The majority of the arrests were carried out on Wednesday and made in collaboration with police from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.
Sexual exploitation of children on the web is still one of the most threatening forms of cyber crime in the EU, warns Europol.
“It continues to be one of the main priorities for law enforcement authorities, which handle an ever -growing amount of illegal content,” EU police cooperation writes in the statement.