The automated fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has slowly but surely been dominated by private tech actors. The reports and images the police receive have gone through a major funnel, greatly impacted by private entities. This private tech dominance is seen as potentially dangerous from the viewpoint of the surveillance capitalism theory, since it may have serious consequences for law enforcement and democratic principles. The driving force behind this trend is the increase in CSAM following technological advances, the rise of the internet and the call for new, automated, investigative tools. Surveillance capitalism argues that private actors are only involved in fighting CSAM for their own benefit. This may erode democratic boundaries of private, state and public domain and facilitate a function creep towards surveillance capitalism. The aim of this research is to analyse the privatisation in the automated fight against CSAM and its relationship with surveillance capitalism and the effects that may have on democratic principles and police operations. The central question ‘To what extent is the automated fight against CSAM affected by surveillance capitalism?’ will be answered by executing a content analysis and semi-structured interviews. This research will provide societal value by assessing the role of private companies that fight CSAM and the consequences thereof and scientific value through broadening the scope of the surveillance capitalism theory.