In one of the largest coordinated law enforcement operations against online child exploitation, authorities have dismantled Kidflix, a major streaming platform for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that had amassed 1.8 million users worldwide.
The international operation codenamed “Operation Stream,” culminated on March 11, 2025, when German and Dutch authorities seized servers containing approximately 72,000 videos of child abuse material.
The investigation, led by the State Criminal Police of Bavaria (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt) and the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime (ZCB), involved law enforcement agencies from 38 countries and was coordinated by Europol.
Kidflix: Global CSAM Network Shut Down
According to officials, the operation represents “one of the biggest blows against child pornography in recent years, if not ever.”
Kidflix, created in 2021, quickly became one of the most popular platforms among pedophiles worldwide.
Unlike many similar platforms, Kidflix offered both downloading and streaming capabilities for CSAM content. Users paid through cryptocurrencies that were subsequently converted into tokens.
“The digital dimension has driven a rapid evolution in online child sexual exploitation, offering offenders a borderless platform to contact and groom victims, as well as to create, store, and exchange child sexual abuse material,” said Catherine De Bolle, Europol Executive Director.
“Some attempt to frame this as merely a technical or cyber issue – but it is not. There are real victims behind these crimes, and those victims are children.”
The platform utilized a sophisticated token-based economy where users could earn tokens by uploading new CSAM content, verifying video titles and descriptions, and assigning categories to videos.
Each video was uploaded in multiple quality versions low, medium, and high allowing users to preview content before paying to unlock higher-quality versions.
Digital forensic analysis revealed the platform hosted more than 91,000 unique videos totaling approximately 6,288 hours of abuse material.
On average, around 3.5 new videos were uploaded to the platform every hour, many previously unknown to law enforcement. The investigation has so far identified nearly 1,400 suspects worldwide, with 79 arrests made across multiple countries.
Authorities seized over 3,000 electronic devices containing evidence and rescued 39 children from ongoing abuse situations.
Law enforcement utilized advanced digital forensic tools to analyze cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain data, and electronic communications.
Investigators were able to track financial transactions despite attempts by platform operators to utilize privacy-enhancing cryptocurrencies like Monero and mixing services to obscure the money trail.
“This dismantling demonstrates the added value that EU agencies like Europol provide,” said Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.
“Criminals operate across borders, so we must also support investigators in doing the same.”
German authorities conducted raids at 96 locations, targeting 103 individual suspects within Germany alone. A 36-year-old man from Chemnitz was arrested in January 2024 in connection with the investigation.
Europol officials emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing. Digital forensic teams continue to analyze seized devices and transaction records to identify additional suspects and potential victims.
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