🔗 Share this article

Tech firms and child safety organizations will be granted permission to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse material under recently introduced British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Material

The declaration came as findings from a safety monitoring body showing that reports 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 amendments, the government will permit designated AI developers and child safety groups to inspect AI models – the foundational technology for conversational AI and image generators – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to stop them from creating images of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it occurs," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under strict conditions, can now identify the risk in AI models promptly."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to produce and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate such content as part of a evaluation process. Previously, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This legislation is aimed at preventing that issue by enabling to stop the production of those images at their origin.

Legal Framework

The changes are being added by the authorities as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on owning, producing or sharing AI models developed to generate exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the minister visited the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up conversation to advisors featuring a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing blackmail online, it is a source of intense anger in me and rightful concern amongst families," he said.

Alarming Statistics

A leading online safety foundation stated that instances of AI-generated abuse material – such as online pages that may contain numerous images – had significantly increased so far this year.

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

• Girls were predominantly victimized, accounting for 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The law change could "represent a crucial step to ensure AI products are safe before they are launched," stated the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the capability to create potentially limitless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike exploitative content," she added. "Material which additionally exploits survivors' trauma, and renders children, especially girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Session Information

Childline also published details of counselling interactions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms mentioned in the sessions include:

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, physique and appearance
• AI assistants dissuading children from talking to trusted adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-faked pictures

During April and September this year, the helpline delivered 367 support sessions where AI, chatbots and associated terms were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, encompassing utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapy apps.