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Tech firms and child protection organizations will receive authority to assess whether AI tools can generate child abuse images under new British legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement coincided with revelations from a safety monitoring body 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.

New Regulatory Framework

Under the amendments, the government will allow approved AI developers and child safety groups to examine AI systems – the underlying systems for chatbots and image generators – and verify they have sufficient safeguards to prevent them from producing depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it occurs," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now identify the danger in AI models promptly."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to produce and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate such images as part of a evaluation regime. Until now, officials had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This legislation is designed to averting that problem by enabling to stop the production of those materials at their origin.

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on possessing, producing or sharing AI systems developed to create exploitative content.

Practical Impact

This week, the official toured the London base of a children's helpline and listened to a mock-up conversation to advisors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction depicted a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

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

Concerning Data

A leading online safety organization reported that cases of AI-generated abuse content – such as webpages that may include numerous files – had more than doubled so far this year.

Instances of the most severe material – the gravest form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

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

Industry Response

The law change could "represent a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are safe before they are launched," commented the chief executive of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so survivors can be targeted repeatedly with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to make potentially endless quantities of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which additionally exploits survivors' suffering, and makes young people, particularly female children, less safe both online and offline."

Support Session Information

Childline also published information of counselling sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related risks mentioned in the conversations comprise:

• Using AI to rate body size, body and looks
• AI assistants dissuading young people from consulting safe guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital extortion using AI-faked pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, chatbots and associated topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, encompassing utilizing chatbots for support and AI therapy applications.