🔗 Share this article

Tech firms and child protection agencies will be granted authority to evaluate whether artificial intelligence systems can produce child exploitation material under new British legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration came as findings from a safety watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the government will allow designated AI companies and child safety organizations to inspect AI systems – the foundational technology for chatbots and image generators – and verify they have sufficient protective measures to prevent them from producing depictions of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about stopping abuse before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Experts, under rigorous conditions, can now detect the danger in AI models promptly."

Addressing Legal Challenges

The amendments have been implemented because it is illegal to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate such images as part of a testing process. Until now, officials had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This law is designed to preventing that issue by enabling to stop the creation of those materials at their origin.

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a prohibition on possessing, creating or sharing AI models designed to generate exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This week, the minister visited the London base of Childline and heard a mock-up conversation to advisors involving a account of AI-based abuse. The call portrayed a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of himself, constructed using AI.

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

Alarming Data

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

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

• Female children were predominantly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI products are safe before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be victimised repeatedly with just a few clicks, providing offenders the ability to create possibly limitless amounts of advanced, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which additionally exploits survivors' suffering, and makes children, particularly girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Session Information

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

• Using AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• AI assistants discouraging young people from consulting trusted adults about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-faked pictures

During April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and associated topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent 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.