🔗 Share this article

Tech firms and child protection agencies will be granted authority to evaluate whether AI tools can produce child abuse material under new UK legislation.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

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

Updated Regulatory Structure

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

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

Addressing Legal Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such content as part of a testing process. Previously, authorities 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 stop the production of those materials at source.

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being added by the government as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on owning, producing or distributing AI models designed to create exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the official visited the London headquarters of Childline and heard a simulated call to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction depicted a teenager requesting help after facing extortion using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about children facing blackmail online, it is a cause of intense anger in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he stated.

Alarming Data

A leading internet monitoring organization reported that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as online pages that may contain numerous images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Cases of category A content – the gravest form of abuse – rose from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

• Female children were predominantly victimized, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The law change could "constitute a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are secure before they are launched," commented the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, giving offenders the capability to create possibly limitless quantities of advanced, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Content which additionally exploits victims' trauma, and renders young people, particularly female children, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Data

Childline also published information of support sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related risks mentioned in the sessions comprise:

• Using AI to rate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to safe adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-faked pictures

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with mental health and wellbeing, including using AI assistants for assistance and AI therapy apps.