🔗 Share this article

Technology companies and child safety organizations will be granted authority to evaluate whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse images under new UK laws.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration coincided with findings from a safety watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the changes, the government will allow approved AI developers and child protection groups to inspect AI models – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have sufficient protective measures to prevent them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it happens," declared the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous conditions, can now detect the risk in AI models promptly."

Addressing Legal Obstacles

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

This legislation is aimed at averting that issue by helping to halt the creation of those images at source.

Legal Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, creating or sharing AI models designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Impact

This recently, the minister visited the London headquarters of a children's helpline and listened to a mock-up call to advisors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I learn about children experiencing extortion online, it is a source of extreme anger in me and rightful concern amongst families," he stated.

Alarming Data

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

Instances of category A material – the gravest form of exploitation – increased from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The law change could "represent a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are safe before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the online safety organization.

"AI tools have enabled so survivors can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, providing offenders the capability to create potentially endless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Material which additionally commodifies victims' suffering, and makes young people, particularly girls, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Information

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

• Employing AI to evaluate body size, body and looks
• Chatbots dissuading children from consulting safe guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-faked images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, conversational AI and associated topics were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, including using chatbots for assistance and AI therapeutic applications.