Last week, as part of the ECLAG Week of Action, Missing Children Europe joined partners and allies across Brussels to send a clear message: children cannot wait.
The focus of this call is the EU Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) — a proposal that would require tech platforms to detect, report, and remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while protecting users’ privacy. Three years after its introduction, negotiations remain stalled, leaving children without adequate protection.
On Monday morning, in the heart of the EU quarter, passers-by stopped to stare.
At the centre of Schuman Square – surrounded by EU institutions – stood a silent classroom.
Each empty desk represented a child potentially affected by sexual abuse. Some carried real stories – reminders that every day of political delay leaves more children unprotected.
Organised by the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG), the installation symbolised what’s at stake if leaders continue to stall: a generation of children left without safeguards in an increasingly dangerous digital world.
Through projects like CESAGRAM and Combat Online Grooming, Missing Children Europe has documented the direct link between online grooming and children going missing.
What begins as a simple chat on a social platform or in an online game can quickly become manipulation, coercion, and abuse. Groomers isolate children – emotionally, digitally, and sometimes physically – making it easier to exploit or traffic them.
This is not just an online safety issue. It is a child protection crisis with devastating real-world consequences.
On Thursday, ECLAG’s event “Back to Basics: Fighting sexual abuse with children at the centre” brought together EU policymakers, experts, and child rights organisations to discuss how to break the deadlock on the Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR).
“Children do not report abuse, they are too young, too scared,” said Antonio Labrador Jimenez from the European Commission’s DG HOME. “The only way to know they are being abused is if companies detect it. As politicians, we either put legislation in progress to protect children or we look away.”
Right now, too many are looking away.
The CSAR, designed to make tech platforms detect, report, and remove child sexual abuse material, has been stalled for three years.
While leaders debate, the abuse continues and children remain unprotected.
“It’s scandalous that after three and a half years, there’s still no decision,” said MEP Jeroen Lenaers. “You don’t like the proposal? Fine. Then come up with a solution. Member States should be embarrassed.”
Both the stunt and the event delivered the same message: children’s rights are not negotiable.
Without clear legal frameworks like the CSAR, companies can choose whether to act – and too often, they don’t.
Protecting children online is everyone’s responsibility: policymakers, companies, and communities alike.