Four years after it was first proposed, the EU’s Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) is still under negotiation. As EU decision-makers shape the future of Europe’s response to child sexual abuse online, the stakes could not be higher. With its #ChooseToSeeThem campaign, the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG) is calling for an ambitious, permanent EU framework that puts children’s safety, rights and wellbeing at the centre of policy decisions.
What is the campaign about?
The CSAR aims to create a permanent EU framework for preventing and combating child sexual abuse online. It would replace the temporary rules that currently allow online services to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse material, which apply until April 2028.
Negotiations between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council continue, and the stakes for Europe are high: in 2025, 63% of the child sexual abuse webpages were traced to hosting services in EU member states.
Behind these figures are children whose rights, privacy and wellbeing have been violated. When abuse goes undetected, the harm does not disappear. Images and videos can continue to circulate, exposing children to repeated violations of their privacy and dignity. Yet the children at the heart of this issue are too often missing from policy discussions and decisions that will shape their protection.
This is what ECLAG’s #ChooseToSeeThem campaign seeks to change. Running from 12 October to 22 November 2026, the campaign brings together organisations, policymakers, public figures, advocates, survivors, children and young people from across Europe to put children back at the centre of the debate.
Through advocacy, social media, campaign videos, events and media engagement, ECLAG is calling on EU decision-makers to prioritise children’s safety and rights and adopt an ambitious, permanent framework to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online. The campaign’s message is clear: Choose to see them. Focus on the children.
The campaign’s flagship event: putting children back in the picture
On 15 October, ECLAG brought policymakers and experts together in Brussels for the advocacy event “Choose to See Them: Protecting Children from Child Sexual Abuse”. Coming at a critical time for the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) speakers examined what a lasting framework should look like, and how different areas of EU policy can work together to better protect children.
The event opened with a welcome from a member of ECLAG’s Steering Group, followed by a keynote address from Commissioner Magnus Brunner.
Sandra, mother of Glenn, a 15-year-old Belgian boy who died by suicide after a private image he sent was shared online without his consent, then shared her testimony. Her words brought a personal perspective to the policy debate and reminded participants of the children and families behind the legislation.
Connecting the dots
The first panel set out to break down policy silos. The Digital Services Act, the upcoming Digital Fairness Act, the review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, and the revised Child Sexual Abuse, Anti-Trafficking and Victims’ Rights Directives all address different aspects of children’s safety, rights and protection. Speakers discussed what each of these legal measures will contribute to the fight against child sexual abuse, and why they cannot replace a dedicated EU framework.
MEP Helene Fritzon; Antonio Labrador Jimenez of the European Commission; Katarzyna Staciwa of Poland’s State Commission for Counteracting Sexual Abuse of Minors; and Nel Broothaerts, CEO of Child Focus, brought European and national perspectives to the discussion.
In their own words
Between the two panel discussions, the event turned its attention to the perspectives of children and young people themselves. Participants watched a video created in collaboration with Eurochild, in which children took the lead in creating and recording the content. Through their own words and experiences, they shared their views on what it means to have the right to be safe and protected online, bringing a vital child-centred perspective to the discussion.
The screening was followed by the #ChooseToSeeThem national champions video, featuring around 50 voices from across Europe and beyond. They included senior public officials, former leaders and prosecutors, child-protection and law-enforcement experts, leading international child-rights organisations, survivors, and children and young people. Each delivered the campaign’s central message in their own language: “I choose to see them.”
The stakes are high
The second panel tackled the issue at the centre of the CSAR debate: detection. Mick Moran (Irish Internet Hotline), Lea Peters (ECPAT Germany), Julie Guichard (Microsoft) and Emma Pösö (Save the Children Finland) discussed what effective detection looks like in practice, and what a permanent Regulation needs to include to protect children effectively.
What comes next
Negotiations on the permanent Regulation continue. ECLAG will continue engaging with the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to agree on a strong, permanent regulation that puts children’s protection first.
The #ChooseToSeeThem campaign continues online until 30 November.
You can help:
- Watch and share the #ChooseToSeeThem videos
- Read ECLAG’s position on the CSAR and common fact-checked myths.
- Follow ECLAG on LinkedIn and share our posts with #ChooseToSeeThem
