(Kuala Lumpur, 14th) Police have revealed the dark side of online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) crimes, namely that individuals who initially only view or store related content may eventually progress to more serious crimes, including grooming, sexual extortion, and the sexual abuse of children.
Bukit Aman Sexual Crimes, Women and Children Investigations Unit (D11) Chief Siti Kamsiah pointed out that this trend was discovered through investigations by D11 and the Malaysian Children's Crimes Centre in CSAM-related cases.
She told Bernama that repeated exposure to CSAM may lead to behavioral addiction, meaning individuals are driven to constantly search for more similar content, and spend increasingly more time viewing it.
"Just like other addictive behaviors, those who continue to access CSAM may require increasingly extreme content to feel satisfied."
She said investigations found that online groups sharing CSAM usually operate in closed group formats, and members may not know each other.
"They connect due to a shared interest in such content. These groups eventually form large chains, as each group has its own network, and they share content with one another."
Siti Kamsiah mentioned that demand for such content also fuels exploitation, with some individuals obtaining related materials to sell for profit.
She said that people who possess, store, or distribute CSAM come from various professional backgrounds, ages, and social classes.
Previously, Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching revealed that according to police records, CSAM cases increased from 68 in 2024 to 152 last year, and so far this year, there have already been 100 cases.
To address this threat, Siti Kamsiah said police continue to strengthen enforcement actions to track down suspects involved in CSAM cases and to identify the victims in the seized images or videos in order to take prompt rescue action.
She said the introduction of the 2025 Online Safety Act (ONSA) is an important measure to strengthen Malaysia's efforts in combating cyber sexual crimes, including CSAM.
She said in the past, collaboration between digital platforms and law enforcement agencies mainly relied on voluntary cooperation, which made it time-consuming to obtain information and remove sexual crime content, including CSAM.
She believes that ONSA, which clearly requires digital platforms to comply with Malaysian laws, helps to expedite access to account holder information, track suspects, identify victims, and remove harmful content.