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Technology companies and child safety organizations will be granted authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can generate child abuse material under new British laws.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

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

New Legal Framework

Under the changes, the government will permit designated AI developers and child protection organizations to inspect AI systems – the underlying systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have sufficient protective measures to stop them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Experts, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the risk in AI models early."

Tackling Regulatory Obstacles

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

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

Legal Structure

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

Real-World Impact

This week, the minister visited the London base of a children's helpline and heard a simulated conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised deepfake of himself, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing extortion online, it is a cause of intense frustration in me and justified concern amongst parents," he said.

Concerning Data

A prominent online safety foundation reported that cases of AI-generated abuse material – such as online pages that may include numerous files – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Female children were predominantly victimized, making up 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The law change could "constitute a crucial step to ensure AI tools are safe before they are released," commented the chief executive of the online safety foundation.

"AI tools have made it so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, giving criminals the ability to make possibly endless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she continued. "Material which additionally exploits victims' trauma, and renders young people, particularly girls, less safe on and off line."

Support Session Data

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

• Using AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from consulting safe guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling interactions where AI, chatbots and associated terms were discussed, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with mental health and wellbeing, encompassing utilizing AI assistants for support and AI therapeutic applications.