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Technology companies and child protection organizations will receive authority to evaluate whether AI systems can generate child abuse images under new British legislation.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement came as findings from a protection watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will allow approved AI developers and child safety organizations to examine AI models – the foundational technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have sufficient safeguards to stop them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it happens," stated Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Specialists, under strict conditions, can now identify the danger in AI models early."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is illegal to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such images as part of a testing process. Previously, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

This legislation is designed to preventing that problem by helping to stop the creation of those images at source.

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being added by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a ban on owning, creating or distributing AI systems developed to generate exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This week, the minister visited the London base of a children's helpline and listened to a simulated call to advisors featuring a account of AI-based abuse. The call portrayed a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing blackmail online, it is a cause of intense anger in me and rightful anger amongst parents," he said.

Alarming Statistics

A leading internet monitoring foundation reported that cases of AI-generated abuse content – such as online pages that may include multiple images – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Female children were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Response

The legislative amendment could "represent a crucial step to ensure AI tools are secure before they are launched," stated the head of the online safety foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be victimised all over again with just a simple actions, providing criminals the capability to create possibly limitless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which additionally exploits survivors' suffering, and renders children, particularly female children, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Interaction Data

The children's helpline also released details of support interactions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations include:

• Employing AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• AI assistants discouraging children from consulting trusted guardians about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Digital blackmail using AI-manipulated images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI 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 related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapy applications.