Overview

• Proceedings begin at the Landgericht Mönchengladbach against five men accused of serving as moderators or administrators of a large Darknet forum.
• Prosecutors charge the 44- to 63-year-old defendants with organized distribution and possession of child pornography, alleging the site enabled exchanges of millions of images and videos and facilitated contacts.
• Investigators shut the platform in September 2024 after searches in six federal states, seizing more than 1,500 devices and 94 boxes of videotapes and DVDs depicting abuse of small children.
• The German Child Protection Association calls for stronger and faster deletion efforts, including removal of past material, citing limited law-enforcement capacity and the role of takedowns in trauma recovery.
• A federal report found about half of flagged content on German servers was deleted within roughly two days, removal is slower for foreign-hosted material, and police urge the public to use platform report buttons or contact stations directly.