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Technology companies and child safety organizations will receive authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can generate child abuse material under new British laws.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration coincided with revelations from a safety watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Framework

Under the changes, the authorities will allow designated AI developers and child protection organizations to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and image generators – and verify they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from producing depictions of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it happens," declared Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the danger in AI models early."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is illegal to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and others cannot create such content as part of a testing process. Previously, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before addressing it.

This legislation is aimed at averting that issue by enabling to stop the production of those materials at their origin.

Legal Structure

The changes are being added by the government as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a prohibition on possessing, creating or distributing AI models developed to create exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This recently, the minister toured the London base of Childline and listened to a mock-up call to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent requesting help after facing extortion using a explicit AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

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

Alarming Data

A leading internet monitoring foundation stated that cases of AI-generated abuse material – such as webpages that may include numerous images – had significantly increased 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, making up 94% of illegal AI depictions 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 secure before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, providing offenders the ability to create possibly limitless amounts of advanced, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which further commodifies victims' suffering, and makes young people, particularly girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Interaction Data

Childline also published information of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related risks mentioned in the conversations include:

• Using AI to evaluate weight, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from talking to safe adults about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Online blackmail using AI-faked images

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

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with mental health and wellbeing, including using chatbots for support and AI therapy apps.