🔗 Share this article

Tech firms and child protection agencies will be granted permission to evaluate whether AI systems can produce child exploitation material under recently introduced UK legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration coincided with findings from a safety monitoring body showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Legal Framework

Under the amendments, the government will allow designated AI companies and child protection organizations to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have sufficient safeguards to prevent them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it happens," declared Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Experts, under strict protocols, can now detect the danger in AI systems promptly."

Tackling Regulatory Obstacles

The changes have been implemented because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and others cannot create such content as part of a testing regime. Until now, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

This law is aimed at averting that issue by enabling to stop the production of those images at source.

Legal Framework

The changes are being introduced by the authorities as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, producing or distributing AI models developed to create exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This recently, the official visited the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a simulated call to advisors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction depicted a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I learn about young people facing blackmail online, it is a cause of extreme anger in me and justified concern amongst families," he said.

Concerning Data

A leading internet monitoring foundation stated that cases of AI-generated abuse material – such as webpages that may include multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

Cases of category A material – the gravest form of exploitation – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

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

Industry Response

The legislative amendment could "represent a crucial step to ensure AI tools are safe before they are released," commented the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, providing offenders the ability to make potentially limitless quantities of advanced, lifelike exploitative content," she continued. "Material which further commodifies victims' suffering, and makes young people, particularly girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Interaction Data

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

• Employing AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• AI assistants dissuading children from consulting trusted adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapy apps.