🔗 Share this article

Tech firms and child protection agencies will be granted authority to assess whether artificial intelligence systems can generate child abuse material under new British legislation.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration coincided with revelations from a safety watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Regulatory Framework

Under the changes, the government will allow approved AI companies and child safety groups to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for chatbots and visual AI tools – and verify they have sufficient protective measures to stop them from creating depictions of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the danger in AI systems early."

Tackling Legal Obstacles

The amendments have been implemented because it is against the law to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such images as part of a evaluation process. Previously, officials had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before addressing it.

This law is designed to preventing that problem by helping to halt the production of those materials at their origin.

Legal Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on owning, producing or distributing AI systems designed to create child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This week, the minister toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up call to counsellors featuring a report of AI-based abuse. The call depicted a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I learn about young people experiencing blackmail online, it is a cause of intense anger in me and justified anger amongst families," he stated.

Concerning Statistics

A leading online safety foundation stated that instances of AI-generated exploitation content – such as webpages that may include multiple images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Instances of the most severe material – the most serious form of exploitation – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Girls were predominantly victimized, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI tools are safe before they are launched," commented the head of the online safety foundation.

"AI tools have made it so victims can be victimised repeatedly with just a few clicks, providing offenders the capability to make potentially limitless quantities of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Content which additionally exploits survivors' trauma, and makes children, especially female children, more vulnerable on and off line."

Counseling Session Data

The children's helpline also released details of support sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related risks discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to rate weight, physique and appearance
• AI assistants dissuading young people from talking to safe adults about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-manipulated pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and related terms were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, including using chatbots for support and AI therapeutic apps.