 "1.8 million users, 91,000 videos: What is Kidflix, the largest paedophile platform in the world, now busted?")
1.8 million (18 lakh) users, 91,000 child abuse videos & a network spanning over 35 countries.
This was Kidflix—a notorious dark web platform that had grown into one of the largest paedophile platforms in the world. But its reign has now come to an end, as German investigators, in coordination with pan-European police agency Europol, led a major operation to dismantle the streaming service.
Dubbed Operation Stream, the crackdown against Kidlfix is “one of the biggest blows against child pornography in recent years,” Guido Limmer, deputy head of the Bavarian criminal police, said while speaking to AFP.
So what was Kidflix all about? How did authorities bust the network? Here’s everything we know so far.
The dark reality of Kidflix
Kidflix was a dark web streaming platform that provided access to thousands of videos depicting extreme child sexual abuse—including crimes against very young children.
Launched in 2021 by a “cybercriminal who made a huge profit from it,” the platform quickly became one of the most popular hubs for paedophiles, according to Europol.
Over the past three years, the site amassed around 1.8 million users worldwide. It hosted approximately 91,000 unique videos, amounting to nearly 6,288 hours of explicit content—all shared on a highly profitable network.
And how did it make money?
“Unlike other known platforms of this kind, Kidflix not only enabled users to download child sexual abuse material but also to stream video files. Users made payments using cryptocurrencies, which were subsequently converted into tokens,” Europol said.
Users could also earn tokens by uploading material, verifying titles and descriptions and assigning categories to videos, it added.
Before authorities took it down on March 11, 2025, Kidflix was expanding at an alarming rate. On average, 3.5 new videos were being uploaded every hour.
Also read: UK becomes first country in the world to criminalise AI child abuse tools
How Operation Stream busted Kidflix
The takedown of Kidflix was the result of a massive international investigation, spearheaded by German law enforcement with support from Europol.
A total of 36 countries, including Britain, joined forces to dismantle the platform. In March, police conducted coordinated raids across 31 nations in what Europol’s Guido Limmer described as the “largest operation ever” of its kind.
So far, authorities have arrested 79 individuals linked to Kidflix, while more than 1,400 suspects have been identified. Among those detained were not only consumers of the illegal content but also direct perpetrators of abuse.
In one particularly disturbing case, a 36-year-old man was arrested for searching child abuse images on the platform and then “offering his young son for games.” The man was arrested, while the boy was sent to child protection services.
In another case, investigators tracked down a “serial abuser” operating from the United States.
Senior prosecutor Thomas Goger revealed that most of the identified suspects were between 20 and 40 years old, with an average age of 31. The youngest was born in 2006, while the oldest was in their seventies. Many had been active on the darknet for years.
“While many people believe they can hide in these corners of the dark web, the online world is not anonymous,” said Det. Erik Bjarnason of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit, speaking to Global News.
In one joint raid by German and Dutch authorities, they seized a hard drive containing a staggering 72,000 videos of child sexual abuse.
As part of the crackdown, German authorities have also intervened 96 times to protect children from ongoing abuse. In 12 cases, they managed to stop active exploitation. In total, 39 children were safeguarded during the investigation.
Authorities remain committed to following leads, bringing more offenders to justice, and dismantling similar networks worldwide.
With input from agencies
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