In what is thought to be the first investigation of its kind, more than 50 people have been arrested world-wide over the trading of child pornography via social networking sites.
New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs launched the investigation and says it has provided evidence of the trading of child porn via popular sites such as Facebook and Socialgo.
The department says there were thousands of images, including some showing sexual abuse, and it passed on information to enforcement agencies to carry out the arrests.
The investigation covered 20 countries resulting in 55 people being brought before the courts, including five in New Zealand.
Maarten Quivooy, Internal Affairs' general manager of regulatory and compliance operations, says since the investigation began, 12 children have been rescued including one from New Zealand.
Mr Quivooy told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Tuesday the distribution of child porn is an international problem that needs to be addressed.
"The internet is really just a global community. It's not just about New Zealand dealing with this problem, it's an international response to what we now see as an international problem.
"There are thousands and thousands upon thousands of these images. And I think that's the terrible thing about this form of abuse - which is that it lives on beyond the incident."
