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Tech firms and child protection agencies will be granted permission to evaluate whether AI systems can produce child abuse images under new British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The announcement came as findings from a protection watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have increased dramatically in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI companies and child safety groups to examine AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it happens," declared Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now identify the risk in AI models promptly."

Addressing Regulatory Obstacles

The amendments 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 regime. Until now, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This law is designed to averting that problem by enabling to halt the creation of those materials at their origin.

Legal Framework

The changes are being introduced by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on possessing, creating or distributing AI systems designed to generate exploitative content.

Practical Impact

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up call to counsellors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a adolescent seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised AI-generated image of themselves, created using AI.

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

Alarming Statistics

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

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

• Female children were overwhelmingly victimized, making up 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are safe before they are released," stated the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, providing criminals the capability to create potentially endless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which further exploits survivors' trauma, and renders children, particularly girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Interaction Data

The children's helpline also published information of support sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations include:

• Using AI to rate weight, body and looks
• Chatbots discouraging young people from consulting trusted adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Online blackmail using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapy applications.