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Technology companies and child safety organizations will receive permission to assess whether AI tools can generate child exploitation material under new British laws.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

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

New Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow designated AI developers and child protection organizations to examine AI systems – the foundational technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

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

Tackling Legal Obstacles

The amendments have been introduced because it is illegal to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and others cannot create such images as part of a testing regime. Until now, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This law is designed to preventing that issue by helping to halt the production of those images at their origin.

Legislative Framework

The changes are being introduced by the authorities as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, producing or distributing AI models designed to create child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Impact

This week, the minister toured the London base of Childline and heard a mock-up call to counsellors featuring a report of AI-based abuse. The interaction depicted a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit AI-generated image of himself, created using AI.

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

Alarming Data

A leading internet monitoring organization reported that cases of AI-generated abuse material – such as webpages that may contain multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

Cases of the most severe content – the gravest form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Girls were predominantly targeted, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

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

"AI tools have made it so victims can be victimised repeatedly with just a few clicks, providing criminals the ability to make possibly limitless amounts of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Material which additionally commodifies victims' trauma, and makes children, especially female children, more vulnerable on and off line."

Counseling Session Information

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

• Employing AI to evaluate body size, physique and looks
• AI assistants discouraging young people from talking to trusted guardians about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-faked images

Between April and September this year, the helpline delivered 367 support sessions where AI, chatbots and related topics were discussed, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with mental health and wellness, including using chatbots for support and AI therapy applications.