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Tech firms and child safety organizations will receive authority to evaluate whether AI tools can produce child abuse material under recently introduced UK laws.

Significant Rise 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 past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will allow designated AI companies and child protection groups to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for chatbots and image generators – and verify they have sufficient protective measures to stop them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Specialists, under strict protocols, can now detect the risk in AI systems promptly."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such images as part of a evaluation regime. Until now, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This legislation is aimed at averting that problem by helping to halt the creation of those images at source.

Legal Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a ban on possessing, producing or sharing AI systems developed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This week, the minister toured the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a mock-up call to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based abuse. The interaction depicted a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

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

Alarming Statistics

A leading internet monitoring foundation reported that cases of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may contain numerous images – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The law change could "represent a crucial step to ensure AI tools are secure before they are released," stated the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, giving offenders the capability to make possibly endless quantities of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which further exploits survivors' suffering, and renders young people, especially girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Session Information

Childline also released details of support sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related risks discussed in the conversations include:

• Using AI to rate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from talking to trusted guardians about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-manipulated pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 support interactions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were discussed, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapeutic applications.