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Technology companies and child protection organizations will receive authority to assess whether artificial intelligence systems can produce child abuse material under recently introduced British laws.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

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

Updated Legal Framework

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI developers and child protection groups to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from producing depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it happens," declared the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous conditions, can now identify the risk in AI models promptly."

Tackling Legal Obstacles

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and others cannot create such images as part of a evaluation process. Until now, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

This legislation is designed to preventing that issue by helping to stop the creation of those images at their origin.

Legal Structure

The changes are being introduced by the government as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on possessing, producing or distributing AI systems designed to create child sexual abuse material.

Practical Impact

This recently, the minister visited the London headquarters of Childline and heard a simulated conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised AI-generated image of himself, created using AI.

"When I hear about children experiencing blackmail online, it is a source of extreme anger in me and rightful anger amongst parents," he said.

Concerning Data

A leading online safety foundation reported that cases of AI-generated abuse material – such as webpages that may include multiple files – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Girls were predominantly victimized, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The law change could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI products are secure before they are launched," stated the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be targeted repeatedly with just a few clicks, providing criminals the ability to make potentially endless quantities of advanced, photorealistic exploitative content," she continued. "Content which additionally commodifies victims' trauma, and renders children, particularly girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Data

The children's helpline also released information of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms discussed in the sessions comprise:

• Using AI to rate body size, body and looks
• Chatbots dissuading children from consulting trusted guardians about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-manipulated images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapy applications.