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Technology companies and child protection agencies will be granted authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can generate child exploitation images under new British legislation.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The announcement coincided with revelations from a protection monitoring body showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have increased dramatically in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Framework

Under the changes, the government will permit approved AI companies and child safety organizations to inspect AI models – the foundational technology for conversational AI and image generators – and verify they have sufficient safeguards to prevent them from creating images of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it occurs," stated the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the risk in AI systems promptly."

Addressing Legal Challenges

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

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

Legal Framework

The changes are being introduced by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a prohibition on owning, producing or sharing AI systems developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This week, the official toured the London base of a children's helpline and heard a simulated call to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about children facing extortion online, it is a cause of extreme frustration in me and justified concern amongst parents," he stated.

Alarming Statistics

A prominent internet monitoring organization reported that instances of AI-generated abuse material – such as webpages that may contain numerous images – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

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

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI tools are secure before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the online safety foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so survivors can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing criminals the capability to create possibly limitless amounts of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which additionally exploits survivors' trauma, and renders children, especially girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Interaction Information

The children's helpline also released details of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related risks discussed in the conversations include:

• Using AI to evaluate body size, body and looks
• Chatbots dissuading young people from talking to trusted guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-faked images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, chatbots 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 sessions were related to mental health and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for support and AI therapeutic applications.