Tech firms and child safety agencies will be granted authority to evaluate whether artificial intelligence systems can generate child abuse material under new UK legislation.
Significant Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Content
The announcement came as findings from a safety watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.
New Regulatory Structure
Under the amendments, the authorities will allow designated AI developers and child safety groups to examine AI models – the underlying systems for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.
"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Experts, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the risk in AI systems promptly."
Addressing Legal Challenges
The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot generate such images as part of a testing regime. Until now, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.
This law is aimed at averting that issue by helping to stop the creation of those images at their origin.
Legislative Structure
The amendments are being added by the government as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a prohibition on possessing, producing or sharing AI systems designed to create child sexual abuse material.
Real-World Impact
This recently, the official toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up conversation to counsellors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of himself, constructed using AI.
"When I learn about children facing extortion online, it is a source of extreme frustration in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he said.
Concerning Statistics
A prominent internet monitoring organization stated that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may include numerous files – had significantly increased so far this year.
Cases of the most severe material – the gravest form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.
- Female children were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
- Depictions of infants to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025
Industry Reaction
The legislative amendment could "constitute a crucial step to guarantee AI products are secure before they are released," stated the chief executive of the online safety organization.
"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be victimised all over again with just a simple actions, providing offenders the capability to make possibly limitless amounts of advanced, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Content which further commodifies victims' suffering, and makes children, especially girls, less safe both online and offline."
Support Session Data
Childline also published information of counselling interactions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations include:
- Using AI to evaluate weight, physique and appearance
- Chatbots discouraging children from talking to trusted adults about harm
- Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
- Online blackmail using AI-faked images
During April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 counselling interactions where AI, chatbots and associated terms were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.
Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic apps.
