Europol Dismantles Child Abuse Platform ‘KidFlix,’ Identifies 1,400 Suspects

In a global law enforcement operation led by Germany and supported by Europol, ‘Kidflix,' one of the world's largest online child sexual exploitation platforms, has been taken offline.

The three-year investigation, culminating in March 2025, resulted in 79 arrests, the identification of nearly 1,400 suspects worldwide, and the seizure of over 3,000 electronic devices.

The operation — codenamed Operation Stream — was spearheaded by the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) and the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime (ZCB), with support from law enforcement agencies in 35 countries. Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) played a central role in coordinating cross-border investigations, analyzing thousands of media files, and distributing intelligence to national agencies.

The investigation began in 2022 and reached a critical point on March 11, 2025, when the Kidflix server, located in the Netherlands, was seized by Dutch and German authorities. At the time of seizure, the server hosted approximately 72,000 videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), many previously unknown to law enforcement.

Kidflix was created in 2021 by an unidentified cybercriminal who monetized the platform using a token-based system. Offenders could earn tokens by uploading CSAM, verifying metadata, and categorizing videos. Tokens were then used to stream or download content, which was available in multiple resolutions — low, medium, and high quality — allowing users to preview material before accessing full-quality versions. Payments were made using cryptocurrencies to obscure users' identities.

At its peak, Kidflix attracted more than 1.8 million registered users. According to Europol, approximately 91,000 unique videos — totaling over 6,288 hours of CSAM — were uploaded during the platform's operation, with an average of 3.5 new videos appearing every hour.

The platform's infrastructure and scale made it unprecedented in complexity. Unlike many dark web services, Kidflix supported video streaming alongside downloads, making it more accessible and attractive to offenders. Its design also encouraged a high level of user engagement and content validation, creating a feedback loop that rapidly expanded the volume and variety of content available.

Kidflix's takedown marks the largest child sexual exploitation investigation in Europol's history. Its analysts not only tracked suspects through Europol databases but also helped identify 39 child victims across multiple countries, including Germany and Australia. The ongoing investigation has already revealed that many of the individuals involved were repeat offenders.