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Technology companies and child safety agencies will receive permission to assess whether AI tools can produce child abuse images under recently introduced UK laws.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration came as revelations from a safety monitoring body showing that reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI companies and child safety organizations to inspect AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to stop them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Specialists, under strict conditions, can now identify the risk in AI models early."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been implemented because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot create such images as part of a evaluation regime. Until now, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This law is aimed at averting that issue by helping to halt the production of those images at their origin.

Legislative Framework

The changes are being introduced by the government as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, creating or sharing AI systems designed to create exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of Childline and heard a simulated conversation to advisors featuring a report of AI-based abuse. The call depicted a adolescent seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

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

Concerning Statistics

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

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

• Girls were predominantly victimized, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The legislative amendment could "represent a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are safe before they are released," stated the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to make possibly limitless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike exploitative content," she added. "Material which additionally commodifies victims' trauma, and renders young people, particularly female children, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Interaction Information

The children's helpline also published details of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related risks discussed in the sessions comprise:

• Using AI to evaluate weight, physique and appearance
• Chatbots discouraging young people from talking to safe adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-faked pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and related terms were discussed, significantly more 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, including using AI assistants for support and AI therapy applications.