Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Child Pornography

The Legal Service announced that the Supreme Court has ruled lawful the use of the ICACCOPS system by the Police to identify IP addresses of users distributing child pornography.

The decision, dated July 30, 2025, rejected a suspect's request to annul an access order to an IP address located via ICACCOPS. The suspect faces charges of acquiring and distributing child pornography files.

The court ruled that the retention of IP addresses by internet providers is lawful and does not constitute the user's personal data, as it belongs to the provider. The Police's access to them, following a court order, is also lawful.

According to the case, a user possessed and disseminated child pornography files between September 2022 and January 2025. The user's identification was made possible through a court order allowing access to the IP address.

The case was handled by Andreas P. Aristides and Nadia Koliarou, Lawyers of the Republic, on behalf of the Attorney General.