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Tech firms and child safety agencies will receive authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child exploitation images under new UK laws.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement coincided with revelations from a protection watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Regulatory Framework

Under the amendments, the government will permit approved AI companies and child protection organizations to examine AI systems – the underlying systems for conversational AI and image generators – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to stop them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it occurs," declared the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Experts, under rigorous conditions, can now detect the danger in AI systems early."

Tackling Legal Challenges

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

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

Legal Framework

The amendments are being added by the government as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on possessing, creating or sharing AI models developed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the official visited the London base of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a sexualised AI-generated image of themselves, created using AI.

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

Concerning Statistics

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

Cases of category A material – the gravest form of abuse – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

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

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are secure before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the online safety foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, providing offenders the capability to make possibly limitless amounts of advanced, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which further commodifies survivors' suffering, and renders young people, particularly female children, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Session Data

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

• Using AI to rate weight, physique and appearance
• Chatbots discouraging children from consulting safe adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and associated topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellness, including using chatbots for support and AI therapy applications.