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Technology companies and child protection agencies will receive permission to assess whether AI tools can generate child abuse images under new UK laws.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Material

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

Updated Legal Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow designated AI developers and child protection organizations to examine AI models – the underlying technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to stop them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it happens," stated Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now detect the risk in AI systems early."

Addressing Legal Obstacles

The amendments have been implemented because it is against the law to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot create such content as part of a evaluation process. Previously, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was published online before addressing it.

This legislation is aimed at averting that problem by helping to halt the creation of those materials at their origin.

Legal Framework

The changes are being added by the authorities as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a prohibition on owning, creating or sharing AI models designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Impact

This recently, the minister toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up conversation to advisors involving a account of AI-based abuse. The interaction portrayed a adolescent requesting help after facing extortion using a sexualised AI-generated image of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing extortion online, it is a cause of extreme anger in me and justified anger amongst families," he stated.

Concerning Statistics

A prominent online safety foundation reported that instances of AI-generated exploitation content – such as webpages that may include multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

Cases of the most severe material – the gravest form of abuse – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were predominantly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The law change could "represent a vital step to guarantee AI products are secure before they are launched," commented the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be targeted repeatedly with just a few clicks, providing offenders the capability to create possibly limitless quantities of sophisticated, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which further exploits survivors' trauma, and renders young people, particularly female children, more vulnerable on and off line."

Support Session Data

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

• Using AI to evaluate body size, body and looks
• Chatbots discouraging children from talking to trusted guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapy applications.