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Tech firms and child safety agencies will be granted permission to evaluate whether AI systems can generate child abuse images under recently introduced British laws.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

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

Updated Legal Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will allow designated AI companies and child safety groups to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to stop them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now detect the danger in AI systems early."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

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

This legislation is aimed at averting that issue by enabling to stop the production of those images at source.

Legislative Structure

The amendments 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 designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This recently, the official visited the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a mock-up call to advisors featuring a account of AI-based abuse. The interaction portrayed a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing blackmail online, it is a cause of intense frustration in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he stated.

Alarming Data

A prominent internet monitoring organization reported that cases of AI-generated abuse content – such as online pages that may include multiple images – had significantly increased so far this year.

Instances of the most severe material – the gravest form of abuse – increased from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

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

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI products are secure before they are released," stated the head of the internet monitoring organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, providing criminals the capability to create possibly endless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike exploitative content," she continued. "Content which further commodifies victims' trauma, and makes children, especially female children, less safe both online and offline."

Support Interaction Information

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

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, physique and looks
• Chatbots dissuading young people from consulting safe adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Online extortion using AI-faked pictures

During April and September this year, the helpline delivered 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and related topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing AI assistants for support and AI therapeutic apps.