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Tech firms and child safety organizations will receive authority to assess whether AI tools can generate child abuse material under recently introduced British laws.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration coincided with revelations from a safety watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have increased dramatically in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the changes, the government will allow designated AI developers and child safety groups to examine AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and image generators – and ensure they have sufficient safeguards to stop them from creating images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it happens," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Specialists, under strict protocols, can now identify the risk in AI models early."

Addressing Regulatory Obstacles

The changes have been implemented because it is illegal to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such images as part of a evaluation regime. Previously, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing 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 introduced by the government as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a ban on owning, producing or sharing AI models designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Impact

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and listened to a mock-up call to advisors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

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

Concerning Data

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

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

• Female children were overwhelmingly victimized, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI images in 2025
• Depictions of infants to two-year-olds increased 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 foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing criminals the capability to create possibly endless quantities of advanced, photorealistic exploitative content," she continued. "Material which additionally commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes children, particularly female children, less safe both online and offline."

Support Session Data

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

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, body and looks
• AI assistants dissuading children from talking to safe guardians about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Digital extortion using AI-faked images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and associated terms 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 wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for support and AI therapy applications.