Germany mandates ISP data retention as AI fuels abuse
Germany is preparing to force internet service providers to retain customer data for three months after federal police warned that artificial intelligence is accelerating the digital exploitation of children.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) documented 20,051 minor victims of sexual abuse in 2025, up from 19,344 the previous year. BKA head Holger Muench said the crime is "increasingly shifting to the digital realm," driving the overall statistics "upward". Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the figure "alarmingly high", warning it does not include "a high volume of unreported cases" that "could significantly exceed what we see in the reported statistics".
Artificial intelligence is amplifying the threat by enabling perpetrators to create fake identities and "simulate friendship and closeness in chats," according to Kerstin Claus, the government's commissioner for combating child abuse. Muench highlighted a rise in cyber-grooming, defined as a process "where minors are targeted and a relationship of trust is deliberately cultivated to facilitate sexual abuse".
The technology is also complicating law enforcement efforts. Muench noted that the proliferation of AI-generated child pornography has had "no impact" on the number of real children being subject to abuse. However, investigators must "deal with much higher volumes" of material to determine "what is real and what is not".
AI manipulation further allows abusers to turn "seemingly innocuous images" into abusive content. This victimises children and contributes to a rise in the "sextortion" of children, where intimate photos or videos are used as blackmail. Global surveys estimate that "11 percent of all children and adolescents" worldwide have been victims of such blackmail, Claus said.
Germany has also seen cases of offenders watching live abuse online jump from 25 in 2024 to "more than 250" in 2026, with the Philippines an apparent "hotspot". "We have evidence that around 40 percent of offenders who access these livestreams actually travel to these locations to commit abuse," Muench added.
Regulatory response targets ISPs
To combat the surge in digital crime, German lawmakers are moving to impose new obligations on the telecommunications sector. Dobrindt announced that parliament will vote on a mandate requiring internet service providers to retain IP addresses for three months. The minister said a vote is expected "in the autumn".
The proposed data retention law represents a significant regulatory shift for internet service providers operating in Europe's largest economy. It is designed to give police the technical capability to trace offenders who currently operate behind anonymous digital profiles.
