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Technology companies and child protection organizations will be granted authority to evaluate whether AI tools can produce child abuse images under recently introduced UK legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement coincided with revelations from a safety watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI companies and child protection organizations to examine AI models – the underlying technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate safeguards to stop them from creating images of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about stopping abuse before it happens," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now detect the risk in AI models early."

Addressing Legal Challenges

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

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

Legislative Structure

The changes are being introduced by the authorities as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a prohibition on owning, producing or distributing AI models developed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Impact

This recently, the official visited the London base of Childline and listened to a mock-up call to counsellors involving a account of AI-based abuse. The call depicted a teenager requesting help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of himself, created using AI.

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

Alarming Data

A prominent online safety organization stated that cases of AI-generated exploitation content – such as online pages that may contain multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

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

• Girls were predominantly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

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

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the capability to create possibly limitless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Material which further commodifies victims' suffering, and renders children, particularly girls, less safe on and off line."

Support Interaction Information

The children's helpline also released details of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Using AI to evaluate body size, physique and looks
• AI assistants dissuading children from consulting safe adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and related terms were discussed, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic applications.