🔗 Share this article

Technology companies and child safety agencies will receive authority to assess whether AI tools can produce child exploitation material under new British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Material

The declaration came as revelations from a safety watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Structure

Under the changes, the government will permit designated AI developers and child protection organizations to examine AI models – the foundational technology for chatbots and image generators – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to stop them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now detect the danger in AI systems promptly."

Addressing Legal Challenges

The amendments have been implemented because it is against the law to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot generate such content as part of a evaluation process. Previously, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

This law is designed to preventing that problem by enabling to halt the creation of those images at source.

Legislative Framework

The changes are being introduced by the government as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on possessing, creating or sharing AI systems developed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a simulated conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised AI-generated image of himself, created using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing blackmail online, it is a cause of extreme anger in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he said.

Concerning Statistics

A leading online safety organization reported that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may include multiple files – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Female children were predominantly victimized, making up 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI products are safe before they are released," stated the head of the internet monitoring organization.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing criminals the ability to create potentially endless amounts of sophisticated, lifelike exploitative content," she added. "Material which additionally exploits survivors' suffering, and renders young people, especially girls, less safe both online and offline."

Support Interaction Information

The children's helpline also published details of support sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms mentioned in the conversations include:

• Employing AI to rate weight, physique and appearance
• AI assistants discouraging young people from talking to trusted guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, chatbots and associated topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, encompassing utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic applications.