A worldwide police operation resulted in the arrest of 25 people on charges related to producing and distributing images of minors entirely generated by artificial intelligence or AI, authorities confirmed Friday.

Europol said 25 people have been arrested as part of a group that was allegedly distributing artificial intelligence-generated images of child sexual abuse, in one of the first major cases involving this type of tech-enabled crime.

A criminal group of 273 known suspects creates and disseminates the images online in exchange for payment. 'More arrests are expected in the coming weeks,' Europol says.

The content investigated in Operation Cumberland was “fully artificial” with “no real victim depicted,” but AI-generated child sexual abuse material “still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children,

The suspects were part of a criminal group whose members engaged in distributing fully AI-generated images of minors, according to the agency. The operation is one of the first involving such child sexual abuse material (CSAM),

Europol has conducted a sting operation against a group whose members engage in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence.

Law enforcement agencies from Australia to Canada helped detain dozens of suspects linked to a Denmark-based AI child sex abuse platform, Europol says.