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Technology companies and child safety organizations will receive authority to evaluate whether AI tools can generate child abuse images under recently introduced British laws.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Material

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

New Legal Framework

Under the changes, the authorities will allow designated AI developers and child safety organizations to examine AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to stop them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping abuse before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Specialists, under strict protocols, can now detect the risk in AI models early."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The amendments have been implemented because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate such content as part of a evaluation process. Until now, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This legislation is designed to averting that issue by helping to stop the production of those materials at source.

Legal Structure

The changes are being introduced by the authorities as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on possessing, producing or sharing AI systems designed to create exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of Childline and heard a simulated call to advisors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I learn about children facing extortion online, it is a source of extreme frustration in me and rightful concern amongst families," he stated.

Alarming Data

A prominent internet monitoring foundation stated that instances of AI-generated abuse material – such as online pages that may contain multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

Instances of the most severe content – the most serious form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to guarantee AI products are safe before they are launched," stated the head of the online safety foundation.

"AI tools have made it so victims can be victimised all over again with just a simple actions, providing offenders the capability to make possibly endless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which further exploits survivors' suffering, and makes young people, especially girls, less safe on and off line."

Support Session Information

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

• Using AI to rate weight, body and looks
• Chatbots discouraging children from talking to safe guardians about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to mental health and wellness, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic applications.