Kidflix, a prominent platform for paedophilia globally, has been dismantled in a coordinated multinational effort to combat child sexual exploitation. The inquiry was facilitated by Europol and directed by the State Criminal Police of Bavaria with the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime. More than 35 nations globally engaged in the operation.
Between April 2022 and March 2025, 1.8 million users globally accessed the platform. On 11 March 2025, German and Dutch officials seized the server, which housed approximately 72,000 videos at that time.
The inquiry culminated in the identification of around 1,400 suspects globally. To date, 79 individuals have been apprehended for the dissemination and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Some of the individuals apprehended not only uploaded and viewed films but actively perpetrated child abuse. The inquiry is continuing.
Results of Operation Stream
The investigation started in 2022 and resulted in action weeks from 10 to 23 March 2025. So far, it has led to the following outcomes:
- 1,393 suspects identified
- 79 suspects arrested
- Over 3,000 electronic devices seized
- 39 children protected
- Over 91 000 CSAM videos
Kidflix was created in 2021 by a cybercriminal who made a huge profit from it, as it quickly became one of the most popular platforms among paedophiles. According to authorities, 91 000 unique videos were uploaded and shared on the platform while it was active, with a total running time of 6 288 hours. On average, around 3.5 new videos were uploaded to the platform every hour, many of which were previously unknown to law enforcement.
Unlike other known platforms of this kind, Kidflix not only enabled users to download CSAM but also to stream video files. Users made payments using cryptocurrencies, which were subsequently converted into tokens. By uploading child sexual abuse material, verifying video titles and descriptions and assigning categories to videos, offenders could earn tokens, which were then used to view content. Each video was uploaded in multiple versions – low, medium and high quality – allowing criminals to preview the content and pay a fee to unlock higher quality versions.
The largest child sexual exploitation operation in Europol’s history
Operation Stream has been the largest operation ever handled by Europol’s experts in fighting child sexual exploitation, and one of the biggest cases supported by the law enforcement agency in recent years.
During the investigation, Europol’s analysts from the European Cybercrime Centre provided intensive operational support to national authorities by analysing thousands of videos. Europol’s experts also cross-checked all available data and provided evidence to the relevant countries to facilitate the investigation.
Given the scale of the case, Europol’s role in coordinating the exchange of information during the investigation and the action days was crucial to its success. Bringing partners together for cross-border cooperation and joint action is one of Europol’s main priorities in order to strengthen the fight against all forms of serious international and organised crime, cybercrime and terrorism.
“The digital dimension has driven a rapid evolution in online child sexual exploitation, offering offenders a borderless platform to contact and groom victims, as well as to create, store, and exchange child sexual abuse material. 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. As a society, we must act to protect our children.”
Catherine De Bolle
Europol Executive Director
“The dismantling of this criminal network demonstrates the added value that EU agencies like Europol provide. This is precisely why the European Commission has presented a strategy for greater security in Europe. Criminals operate across borders, so we must also support investigators in doing the same.”
Magnus Brunner
EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration
What happens online, stays online
Child sexual exploitation is one of the key threats to the EU’s internal security identified in the recently published EU Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment report. The digital dimension has triggered a rapid evolution of online CSE, providing offenders with a borderless platform to contact and groom victims, as well as to create, store and exchange child sexual abuse material. This trend will continue to grow in the coming years.
However, the online world is not anonymous. Most of the suspects identified in Operation Stream were matched against records in Europol’s databases, proving that most offenders engaged in child sexual exploitation are repeat offenders and are not unknown to law enforcement authorities.
Child sexual exploitation is a major threat and therefore one of the EU’s priorities in the fight against serious and organised crime. Since 2017, Europol has been running the Stop Child Abuse – Trace An Object initiative, encouraging citizens to identify objects to help police save abused children.
At the request of EU Member States and other partners, Europol hosts a Victim Identification Taskforce twice a year, an initiative that brings together law enforcement to localise investigations and identify victims. Children in Germany and Australia have benefited from this project, which has provided them with protection.
Participating countries:
- Albania: Albanian State Police, Directorate for the Investigation of Cyber Crime in the Criminal Police Department and Directorate of the Special Operational Force (Policia e Shtetit, Drejtoria për Hetimin e Krimeve Kibernetike, Drejtoria e Forcës së Posaçme Operacionale)
- Australia: Australian Federal Police (AFP)
- Austria: Criminal Intelligence Service (Bundeskriminalamt)
- Belgium: Belgian Federal Police (Federale Politie / Police Fédérale)
- Bulgaria: Cybercrime Directorate – General Directorate for Combating Organized Crimes, Ministry of Interior (Дирекция “Киберпрестъпност” – Главна дирекция “Борба с организираната престъпност”, Министерство на вътрешните работи)
- Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted police (RCMP) – National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (NCECC), Ontario Provincial Police, Ottawa Police, Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit, Northern Alberta Integrated Child Exploitation Unit
- Colombia: Police Cybernetic Center C4 (Policía Nacional de Colombia), National Police of Colombia (Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol), Criminal Investigation and Interpol Directorate (Centro Cibernético Policial C4)
- Croatia: National Cybercrime Department (Služba kibernetičke sigurnosti)
- Cyprus: Cybercrime Unit – Cyprus Police (Υποδιεύθυνση Ηλεκτρονικού Εγκλήματος – Αστυνομία Κύπρου)
- Czech Republic: Bureau of Criminal Police and Investigation Service, Criminal Police and Investigation Service of the Regional Police Directorate of the Capital City of Prague, Criminal Police and Investigation Service of the Regional Police Directorate of Liberec, Ústí nad Labem, Pardubice, South Bohemian, Plzeň and South Moravian
- Denmark: National Cyber Crime Centre (NC3) at Special Crime Unit (SCU/NSK) and Danish National Police (Dansk Politi)
- Estonia: Estonian Police, Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet)
- Finland: National Bureau of Investigation (Keskusrikospoliisi), Western Uusimaa Police Department (Länsi-Uudenmaan poliisilaitos), Eastern Finland Police Department (Itä-Suomen poliisilaitos), Oulu Police Department (Oulun poliisilaitos)
- France: Police department for the protection of children (OFMIN) of the national directorate of judicial police (DNPJ)
- Germany: State Criminal Police of Bavaria (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt), Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime (ZCB)
- Georgia: Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (საქართველოს შინაგან საქმეთა სამინისტროს ცენტრალური კრიმინალური პოლიციის დეპარტამენტი)
- Greece: Cyber Crime Division (Διεύθυνση Δίωξης Ηλεκτρονικού Εγκλήματος)
- Hungary: National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Department Investigative Division (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda Kiberbűnözés Elleni Főosztály Nyomozó Osztály)
- Iceland: Reykjavik metropolitan police (Lögreglan á Höfuðborgarsvæðinu)
- Ireland: An Garda Síochána
- Italy: National Police – Postal and Cyber Security Police Service (Polizia di Stato – Servizio Polizia Postale e per la Sicurezza Cibernetica)
- Latvia: Cybercrime Enforcement Department of Central Criminal Police Department of the State Police of Latvia (Valsts policijas Galvenās kriminālpolicijas pārvaldes Kibernoziegumu apkarošanas pārvalde)
- Lithuania: Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau (Lietuvos kriminalines policijos biuras)
- Luxembourg: Police Luxembourg – Criminal Investigation Department – Sexual offences and juvenile delinquency (Police Luxembourg – Service de Police Judiciaire – Section Protection de la Jeunesse et Infractions à Caractère Sexuel)
- Malta: Malta Police Force (Il-Korp tal- Pulizija ta’ Malta)
- Netherlands: National Police (Politie)
- New Zealand: New Zealand Police
- Norway: NCIS – Norway (Kripos)
- Poland: Central Cybercrime Bureau (CBZC)
- Portugal: Judicial Police (Polícia Judiciária)
- Romania: Romanian Police (Poliția Română).
- Serbia: Service for combating High-Tech Crime, Directorate for Technology, Ministry of Internal Affairs (Služba za borbu protiv visokotehnološkog kriminala, Uprava za tehniku, Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova)
- Slovakia: Police Force of the Slovak Republic (Policajný zbor Slovenskej republiky)
- Spain: Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional)
- Sweden: Swedish Police Authority, National Cybercrime centre CSE/CSA-team and the local CSA/CSE teams of region Stockholm, Mitt, Bergslagen and Syd (Polismyndigheten Nationellt IT-brottscentrum, Internetrelaterade sexuella övergrepp mot brott mot barn (ISÖB) and regionala ISÖB-grupperna i Stockholm, Mitt, Bergslagen och Syd)
- Switzerland: Federal Office of Police fedpol (Bundesamt für Polizei fedpol), Police Basel-Landschaft (Polizei Basel-Landschaft), Aargau Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Aargau), Bern Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Bern), Geneva Cantonal Police (Police cantonale de Genève), Thurgau Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Thurgau), Vaud Cantonal Police (Police cantonale vaudoise), Zurich Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich)
- United Kingdom: National Crime Agency (NCA)
- United States: Homeland Security Investigations
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.