Icelander arrested on suspicion of purchasing child abuse material

A man was arrested in Iceland in connection with extensive Europol operations, on suspicion of purchasing access to and distributing child abuse material created with the help of artificial intelligence.

A statement says that the police in the capital area and the Office of the National Commissioner of Police have recently participated in an international police operation, which focused on child abuse material created with the help of artificial intelligence.

The operation was codenamed Cumberland, and was led by Danish police authorities. It was a coordinated operation with the support of Europol in seventeen European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. 25 people in 19 countries were arrested in Europol's operations, most of which were carried out on Wednesday. More arrests are expected in the coming weeks as the operation is still ongoing.

Searched the house and seized items

"We went on a joint operation with other police units on Wednesday and we arrested one person and searched the house and took a report from him," Bylgja Hrönn Baldursdóttir tells mbl.is, who works for the sexual crimes unit of the police in the capital area.

Baldursdóttir says that items in his possession have been seized and are being investigated. The man, who was arrested in the capital area, is not in custody.

She says that the operation was very extensive and that the preparations for it took a long time.

"These cases came up in an investigation by the Danish police, but a party in that country has been creating child abuse material through artificial intelligence. It is an incredible disadvantage to use artificial intelligence in a case like this because it can be used in so many good ways," she says.

The alleged ringleader in the case is a Danish citizen who was arrested late last year. He is alleged to have created child abuse material using artificial intelligence and then sold access to the material online.