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Technology companies and child safety organizations will receive authority to evaluate whether AI systems can produce child exploitation material under new British laws.

Significant Increase 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 past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the changes, the authorities will allow designated AI companies and child protection organizations to inspect AI models – the foundational systems for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to stop them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping abuse before it happens," declared the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the danger in AI systems early."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been implemented because it is illegal to create and possess 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 published online before addressing it.

This law is designed to preventing that issue by helping to halt the creation of those materials at source.

Legal Framework

The amendments are being added by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a ban on owning, creating or sharing AI models designed to generate exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This week, the official toured the London base of Childline and listened to a simulated conversation to advisors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction depicted a adolescent requesting help after facing extortion using a sexualised AI-generated image of himself, constructed using AI.

"When I learn about children experiencing blackmail online, it is a source of intense anger in me and justified anger amongst families," he said.

Concerning Data

A leading internet monitoring foundation stated that cases of AI-generated exploitation content – such as webpages that may contain multiple images – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "represent a crucial step to ensure AI tools are secure before they are released," stated the chief executive of the internet monitoring organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, providing offenders the ability to make possibly limitless quantities of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which further commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes young people, especially female children, less safe on and off line."

Support Interaction Data

Childline also released details of support interactions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms mentioned in the sessions include:

• Using AI to rate body size, physique and looks
• AI assistants discouraging children from consulting safe guardians about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Online extortion using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were discussed, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including using chatbots for support and AI therapeutic applications.