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Technology companies and child safety organizations will be granted authority to assess whether AI tools can generate child exploitation material under recently introduced British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Material

The declaration came as findings from a protection watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Legal Framework

Under the changes, the authorities will allow designated AI companies and child protection organizations to examine AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate safeguards to stop them from creating depictions of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it happens," declared Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under rigorous protocols, can now identify the risk in AI systems early."

Tackling Legal Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is illegal to produce and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and others cannot generate such images as part of a evaluation process. Previously, officials had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

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

Legislative Structure

The amendments are being introduced by the government as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a prohibition on owning, creating or sharing AI systems developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Impact

This week, the official visited the London base of Childline and heard a simulated conversation to advisors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about children experiencing extortion online, it is a source of intense anger in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he stated.

Concerning Statistics

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

Cases of the most severe content – the most serious form of abuse – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were overwhelmingly victimized, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a crucial step to guarantee AI products are safe before they are launched," commented the head of the online safety foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, giving criminals the ability to create possibly endless amounts of advanced, lifelike exploitative content," she continued. "Content which additionally commodifies victims' trauma, and makes children, especially female children, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Information

Childline also published information of support sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms discussed in the sessions include:

• Using AI to rate body size, physique and appearance
• AI assistants dissuading young people from consulting trusted guardians about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Online extortion using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling interactions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were mentioned, four times 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 using AI assistants for support and AI therapy applications.