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Technology companies and child protection organizations will receive authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can generate child exploitation material under new British laws.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The announcement came as findings from a protection monitoring body showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Regulatory Framework

Under the changes, the government will permit approved AI companies and child safety organizations to examine AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and image generators – and verify they have sufficient safeguards to prevent them from creating images of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it occurs," declared Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Specialists, under strict conditions, can now identify the danger in AI models early."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is illegal to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such content as part of a testing process. Until now, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was published online before addressing it.

This legislation is aimed at preventing that problem by helping to stop the creation of those materials at source.

Legal Structure

The changes are being introduced by the government as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a prohibition on owning, producing or sharing AI systems developed to generate exploitative content.

Real-World Impact

This recently, the minister visited the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a simulated conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent requesting help after facing extortion using a explicit AI-generated image of himself, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about children experiencing extortion online, it is a source of intense anger in me and justified concern amongst families," he stated.

Concerning Data

A prominent online safety foundation reported that cases of AI-generated exploitation content – such as webpages that may contain numerous files – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, 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 Reaction

The law change could "represent a vital step to ensure AI products are secure before they are launched," commented the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have made it so victims can be targeted repeatedly with just a simple actions, giving offenders the ability to create potentially limitless quantities of advanced, lifelike exploitative content," she continued. "Material which further commodifies survivors' suffering, and renders children, especially female children, less safe on and off line."

Support Interaction Information

Childline also released details of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms mentioned in the conversations include:

• Using AI to rate body size, body and looks
• AI assistants dissuading children from talking to safe adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online blackmail using AI-faked pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, chatbots and related terms were mentioned, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for support and AI therapy applications.