Updating EU legislation on child sexual abuse

The EU Parliament has voted to update EU legislation on sexual abuse. The background to the new regulations is, in particular, changing technological possibilities, for example through artificially generated deepfake images, which are now criminalized. Maximum penalties for individual offenses will be increased and cooperation between national authorities will be strengthened. The aim is also to improve support for victims of sexual crimes. In order to have enough time to report a crime, the limitation on the time period in which crimes must be reported should be lifted. In addition to the directive, a separate regulation on child sexual abuse is being discussed. Legislative discussions on this will begin as soon as the Council has agreed on a common position. Attention: The voting results shown on the right only reflect the voting behavior of the 96 German MEPs and not that of all 720 MEPs. Overall, the directive was adopted with 599 votes in favour, 2 against and 62 abstentions. Of the German MEPs, 90 voted for it and no one voted against it. There was no abstention.

Vote breakdown