🔗 Share this article

Tech firms and child safety agencies will receive permission to evaluate whether AI tools can generate child abuse material under new British legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The announcement came as revelations from a safety monitoring body showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have increased dramatically in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will permit designated AI developers and child protection groups to examine AI models – the foundational technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have sufficient safeguards to prevent them from creating depictions of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Specialists, under strict conditions, can now detect the danger in AI models promptly."

Addressing Regulatory Obstacles

The changes have been introduced because it is illegal to produce and own 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 uploaded online before addressing it.

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

Legal Framework

The amendments are being introduced by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on possessing, creating or sharing AI models developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This recently, the official toured the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a mock-up conversation to advisors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of himself, created using AI.

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

Concerning Data

A prominent online safety organization reported that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may include numerous images – had significantly increased so far this year.

Instances of category A content – the most serious form of abuse – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were predominantly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "represent a crucial step to guarantee AI products are secure before they are released," stated the head of the online safety foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, giving offenders the ability to create possibly endless quantities of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Content which further commodifies victims' suffering, and renders young people, especially female children, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Information

The children's helpline also released information of support interactions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms mentioned in the conversations include:

• Using AI to rate weight, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to trusted guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Online blackmail using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots 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 related to mental health and wellness, encompassing utilizing AI assistants for support and AI therapy apps.