In a sweeping international operation, law enforcement agencies across 35 countries have successfully dismantled Kidflix, one of the world’s largest online child sexual exploitation platforms, according to a recent announcement from Europol.
The investigation, led by the State Criminal Police of Bavaria and the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime, culminated in the seizure of Kidflix’s central server on March 11, 2025. At the time of seizure, the server contained approximately 72,000 videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to Europol’s report, the platform had accumulated about 1.8 million users worldwide between April 2022 and March 2025. The operation has identified nearly 1,400 suspects globally, with 79 arrests for sharing and distributing CSAM. Some of those arrested are also suspected of directly abusing children.
Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle emphasized the severity of the situation, stating:
"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."
Its business model and technological approach made Kidflix particularly distinctive in the criminal landscape. Unlike similar platforms, Kidflix allows users to download and stream video files. The platform operated on a token-based system where users made payments using cryptocurrencies. Users could earn tokens by uploading new CSAM content, verifying video titles and descriptions, and categorizing videos.
Over its operational period beginning in 2021, approximately 91,000 unique videos were uploaded to the platform, with an average of 3.5 new videos uploaded every hour. The platform offered multiple quality versions of each video, allowing criminals to preview content and pay additional fees to access higher-quality versions.
The operation has resulted in the protection of 39 children and the seizure of over 3,000 electronic devices. Europol described Operation Stream as the largest child sexual exploitation operation in its history, highlighting the growing challenge of combating digital-enabled child exploitation crimes.