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Technology companies and child protection organizations will be granted authority to assess whether AI tools can produce child abuse material under new UK legislation.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration coincided with revelations from a protection monitoring body showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow designated AI developers and child safety organizations to inspect AI models – the foundational technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating images of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Experts, under strict protocols, can now identify the risk in AI models promptly."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is illegal to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot generate such content as part of a evaluation regime. Previously, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

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

Legislative Structure

The changes are being added by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a prohibition on owning, producing or sharing AI systems developed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the minister visited the London base of Childline and listened to a simulated call to advisors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised AI-generated image of himself, created using AI.

"When I learn about young people experiencing extortion online, it is a source of intense frustration in me and rightful anger amongst families," he said.

Alarming Data

A prominent internet monitoring organization reported that instances of AI-generated abuse material – such as webpages that may include numerous images – had significantly increased so far this year.

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

• Girls were predominantly victimized, making up 94% of prohibited AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The law change could "represent a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are safe before they are released," stated the chief executive of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have made it so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, giving offenders the capability to create potentially limitless quantities of sophisticated, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which additionally commodifies victims' suffering, and makes young people, particularly girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Session Information

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

• Using AI to evaluate body size, physique and looks
• AI assistants dissuading young people from talking to safe adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-manipulated pictures

During April and September this year, the helpline delivered 367 counselling interactions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were discussed, significantly more as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with mental health and wellness, including utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapeutic apps.