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Tech firms and child safety agencies will be granted authority to assess whether AI systems can produce child exploitation material under recently introduced UK laws.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement coincided with findings from a safety watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have increased dramatically in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI companies and child protection organizations to inspect AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and image generators – and ensure they have sufficient protective measures to prevent them from producing depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about stopping abuse before it happens," declared the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now identify the danger in AI systems 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 others cannot generate such images 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 designed to averting that problem by enabling to stop the production of those materials at source.

Legal Framework

The amendments are being introduced by the government as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, creating or sharing AI systems developed to generate exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the official toured the London base of a children's helpline and heard a simulated call to advisors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of himself, created using AI.

"When I learn about young people experiencing extortion online, it is a cause of extreme frustration in me and rightful anger amongst families," he said.

Alarming Statistics

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

Instances of the most severe material – the most serious form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

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

Industry Reaction

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 foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to create potentially limitless quantities of sophisticated, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which additionally commodifies survivors' trauma, and renders children, especially girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Session Information

Childline also published information of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, body and appearance
• AI assistants discouraging young people from consulting safe guardians about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, encompassing utilizing AI assistants for support and AI therapy applications.